Some of the deceased soldiers have been identified, the Colombian Air Force said on X.
The accident occurred in an area where drug trafficking is widespread and where militant groups opposing the government in Bogotá are also active.
Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Arnulfo Sanchez wrote on X that there is no indication that the plane was attacked.
"As a result of the fire on the plane, some of the ammunition the soldiers were carrying detonated, which correspond to the explosions heard in some videos circulating on social media."
The military transport plane had 125 people on board when it crashed in a rural area of Puerto Leguizamo near the border with Ecuador.
