On the afternoon of the 27th local time of this month,A Bolivian Air Force C-130 "Hercules" military transport plane overshot the runway when landing at El Alto International Airport near the capital La Paz, hit at least 15 cars on the busy road outside the airport, and eventually crashed in a field..
The plane was transporting banknotes newly printed by the Central Bank of Bolivia, destined for other cities in the country. After the wreckage of the plane broke up, a large number of brand-new banknotes were scattered on the ground, raining down on roads and fields.
Ignoring the risk of fire and explosion after the crash, hundreds of people broke through the security cordon and grabbed money. Videos that went viral on social media showed people scrambling to pick up bundles of cash, and some even got into the burning wreckage of the plane to search for money.
The police used tear gas to disperse the crowd, but some people returned to the scene multiple times, seriously disrupting rescue efforts and on-site control.
According to statistics, the air crash killed at least 15 people (including people on board and passengers on ground vehicles) and injured more than 30 people. El Alto International Airport has suspended operations, and the civil aviation department is evaluating the recovery time.
The Bolivian Ministry of Defense confirmed the accident. The Minister of Defense said that the cause of the accident was being investigated, and initially pointed to severe weather conditions that caused landing difficulties.Security forces (military, police and fire fighters) have fully taken over the scene, carrying out rescue operations on the one hand and recovering the scattered banknotes on the other.
The Central Bank of Bolivia has not announced the specific amount of losses, but said it will take measures to prevent the lost banknotes from flowing into the market and causing financial chaos.
