A cargo plane carrying newly printed Bolivian currency crashed near the country's capital, damaging about a dozen vehicles on a highway, scattering bills on the ground and leaving at least 15 people dead and others injured, an official said.

Defence Minister Marcelo Salinas said the Hercules C-130 plane “landed and veered off the runway" at an airport in El Alto, a city adjacent to the capital of La Paz, before ending up in a nearby field. Firefighters managed to put out the flames that engulfed the aircraft.

Fire chief Pavel Tovar said at least 15 people died but he did not clarify if the dead were in the plane or in the cars on the highway.

Salinas did not specify how many people had been killed in the crash and said the cause was being investigated.

Bolivian Air Force general Sergio Lora said two of the plane's six crew members had not been found as of late Friday, adding that the aircraft was arriving from the eastern city of Santa Cruz where it had picked up its cargo.

Images on social media showed debris from the aircraft, destroyed cars and bodies scattered on the road. According to Tovar, at least 15 vehicles were damaged.

The plane, belonging to the Bolivian air force, was transporting banknotes from La Paz and images on social media showed people rushing to collect the scattered bills at the crash scene, while police in riot gear tried to disperse them.

Central Bank president David Espinoza said the banknotes had arrived in Santa Cruz from abroad and he did not specify the value of the money being transported.

Authorities temporarily suspended all flights to and from the terminal. (AP)




Edited by Robert Kemp