Bolivian military plane crashes in El Alto near capital La Paz

El Alto, Bolivia. (Miguel Martinez)

LA PAZ, Bolivia — A Bolivian Air Force Hercules aircraft crashed on Friday evening onto a busy avenue amid inclement weather in the city of El Alto, near Bolivia’s capital La Paz, according to television media reports.

The aircraft was transporting new banknotes to the interior of the country, local media station Unitel said, citing the Bolivian Ministry of Defense.

Social media footage showed chaotic scenes of people flocking to the scene of the crash, appearing to pick up money that lay strewn on the ground following the accident. Local authorities on the scene were warding off people using water hoses. Reuters was unable to identify the images.

Authorities have not yet confirmed injuries or fatalities. Bolivia’s central bank was set to address reporters later on Friday evening.

The El Alto International Airport was temporarily closed following the crash, national airline Boliviana de Aviacion said in a statement, which said the aircraft involved in the accident did not belong to its fleet.

Video broadcast on local media showed that the aircraft was severely damaged, as were a number of vehicles along the avenue where the crash took place.

Daniel Ramos, Iñigo Alexander, Reuters