Cargo plane transporting cash crashes near Bolivia’s capital, killing at least 15

A Bolivian Air Force cargo plane carrying newly printed currency crashed Friday near the capital, killing at least 15 people, damaging multiple vehicles on a highway and scattering banknotes across the area, officials said.

Defense Minister Marcelo Salinas said the Hercules C-130 aircraft was transporting fresh Bolivian bills when it “landed and veered off the runway” at El Alto airport in El Alto, adjacent to La Paz, before crashing into a nearby field. Firefighters extinguished flames that engulfed the plane.

Fire chief Pavel Tovar confirmed at least 15 fatalities but did not clarify whether the victims were aboard the aircraft or in vehicles struck along the highway. Salinas said the death toll was still being verified and that the cause of the crash remained under investigation.

Bolivian Air Force General Sergio Lora said two of the six crew members were still unaccounted for late Friday. The aircraft had departed from the eastern city of Santa Cruz, he added.

Images shared on social media showed wreckage strewn across the roadway, destroyed cars and bodies lying near the crash site. Tovar said at least 15 vehicles were damaged.

The plane, operated by the Bolivian Air Force, was carrying cash destined for La Paz. Footage showed crowds rushing to gather banknotes scattered across the ground as police in riot gear attempted to disperse them. Tovar said the large number of people collecting the bills was hampering rescue operations.

According to official reports, more than 500 soldiers and 100 police officers were deployed to secure the area. Police and military personnel later burned cash boxes in the presence of Central Bank President David Espinoza, who said the banknotes “have no legal value because they never entered circulation,” without elaborating.

Espinoza did not disclose the amount of money on board but said the banknotes had arrived in Santa Cruz from abroad. Authorities temporarily suspended all flights to and from the airport following the crash.