At least 15 people were killed when a cargo plane crashed in Bolivia just days after take off

LA PAZ, Bolivia — A cargo plane carrying cash crashed Friday near Bolivia’s capital, damaging about a dozen vehicles on a highway, scattering bills on the ground, killing at least 15 people and injuring others, an official said.

Defense Minister Marcelo Salinas said the Hercules C-130 plane, carrying newly printed Bolivian currency, “landed and ran off the runway” at the airport in El Alto, next to the capital of La Paz, before ending up in a nearby field. Firefighters managed to put out the fire engulfing the plane.

Fire Chief Pavel Tovar said at least 15 people were killed but did not specify if the dead were on the plane or in cars on a nearby highway.

Salinas did not specify how many people died in the crash and said the cause was under investigation.

Two of the plane’s six crew members remained unaccounted for late Friday, Bolivian Air Force Gen. Sergio Lora said, adding that the plane was arriving from the eastern city of Santa Cruz.

Images on social media showed the wreckage of the plane, cars and bodies strewn on the road. According to Tovar, at least 15 vehicles were damaged.

The plane belonging to the Bolivian air force was carrying cash to La Paz, and pictures on social media showed people rushing to collect bills scattered at the crash site, while police in riot gear tried to disperse them.

Tovar said rescue efforts were hampered by hundreds of people trying to collect the spilled bills.

According to official reports, more than 500 soldiers and 100 police officers took control of the area to disperse the crowd. Police and military personnel burned cash boxes in the presence of Central Bank President David Espinoza, who clarified that the bills had no legal value because they were not in circulation.

Espinoza did not specify how much money was being transported but he said notes had arrived in Santa Cruz from abroad.

Authorities have temporarily suspended all flights to and from the terminal.