At least 15 people were killed Friday when a Bolivian military C-130 Hercules transporting banknotes crashed while landing near La Paz, authorities said, as police used tear gas to disperse bystanders trying to grab scattered cash.

The aircraft veered off the runway at El Alto International Airport and plowed into an avenue, destroying cars and damaging trucks. Banknotes littered the roadway before authorities burned the money at the scene.

The cause was not immediately known, though witnesses described severe weather.

"A heavy hailstorm" was falling and "there was lightning" when the plane went down, Cristina Choque, a 60-year-old vendor whose car was struck by the aircraft wreckage, told AFP.

"The tire is what fell on top of us... my daughter is injured, she has a head wound," she added.

Colonel Pavel Tovar of the National Fire Department said "between 15 and 16 (dead) people have been counted" in the disaster.

"We are recovering the bodies of these people who have sadly suffered in the accident," he said.

Bolivia's health ministry reported at least 28 people were injured.

The Bolivian Air Navigation and Airports authority NAABOL said the C-130 departed from Santa Cruz de la Sierra and crashed while landing, prompting suspension of operations.

The C-130 Hercules -- manufactured by Lockheed Martin -- was carrying Bolivian banknotes that scattered upon impact.

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."

It said that "its collection, possession, or use constitutes a crime."

"Twelve people have been arrested" for questioning, prosecutor Luis Carlos Torres told reporters. Hospitals in El Alto launched a blood donation campaign.