Death toll in Bolivia military plane crash rises to 22

LA PAZ

The death toll in the crash of a Bolivian military cargo plane carrying banknotes near the capital La Paz has risen to 22, officials have said, warning it may take more than a year to figure out why it happened.

The aircraft, a C-130 Hercules transport plane, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, crashed after veering off the runway at El Alto International Airport on Friday, destroying multiple cars and damaging trucks.

Authorities have not yet revealed the number of people on board, nor have they said if anyone survived the incident, but they have announced that rescue efforts are over.

Fatalities were recorded both at the airport and on the busy avenue where the plane crashed.

"We have 22 people dead," including four children, national police chief Mirko Sokol told reporters, adding: "Only nine of them have been identified, because we have bodies that were completely mutilated."

Defense Minister Raul Salinas has said that the plane, which departed from the eastern city of Santa Cruz, had eight crew members, one of whom was killed.

The Health Ministry put the number of people injured at 37.

The government of Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz said that the cause of the incident was not yet known, and that a probe had been opened. Witnesses have cited bad weather.

The plane's black boxes, the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, were recovered on Feb. 28.

But the defense ministry said analysis of the data could take "from several weeks to more than a year."

The Defense Ministry said that "the money transported in the crashed aircraft has no official serial number, therefore it has no legal or purchasing power."

Bystanders attempted once again on Feb. 28 to access the site, but police fired more tear gas.