Cali (Colombia) (AFP) – Colombian authorities said five people were killed and dozens more injured when a truck bomb tore through a busy street in the city of Cali on Thursday, deepening the country’s most serious security crisis in decades.
Police said the explosion targeted a military aviation school in the city’s north – a fresh challenge to Colombia’s fragile peace process ahead of 2026 elections.
“There was a thunderous sound of something exploding near the air base,” 65-year-old eyewitness Hector Fabio Bolanos told AFP.
“There were so many injured people,” he said. “Many houses were damaged in front of the base.”
Cali mayor Alejandro Eder said preliminary reports were that at least five people were killed and 36 people injured.
Fearing further explosions, he announced a temporary ban on large trucks entering the city and a US$10,000 reward for information.
Several buildings and a local school were evacuated.
Cali is Colombia’s third-largest city, home to more than two million people, famed for its vibrant salsa-infused nightlife and cartel-tainted past.