Military plane crash kills at least 16

A military plane crashed in a soybean field in rural Mississippi on Monday, killing at least 16 and leaving a debris field five miles in radius, officials said.

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Director Lee Smithson said the plane crashed on the Sunflower-Leflore county line.

Leflore County EMA Director Frank Randle confirmed that 16 were dead in the crash.

“Most of them are gonna be Marines,” Sheriff Ricky Banks said. He could not confirm whether there were any civilians on the plane.

The U.S. Marine Corps Twitter account posted that “A USMC KC-130 mishap occurred the evening of July 10. Further information will be released as available.”

The KC-130 is used for inflight refueling.

Capt. Sarah Burns echoed that Twitter language in a statement, saying a Marines KC-130 “experienced a mishap” Monday.

Marine Corps spokeswoman Lt. Kristine Rascicot confirmed that the crash was a Marines KC-130, but said she was not able to release any more details.

Leflore County Deputy Coroner Will Gnemi confirmed the coroner’s office was on the scene. He said the crash site was a rural area, and that officials were searching in a field with tall vegetation.

Greenwood Fire Chief Marcus Banks told the Greenwood Commonwealth that the debris field was about five miles in radius.

“Please join Deborah and me in praying for those hurting after this tragedy,” Governor Phil Bryant said in a statement on Facebook. “Our men and women in uniform risk themselves every day to secure our freedom.”

Marcus Banks told the Commonwealth that the call came in around 4 p.m. An aircraft crash truck was taken to the scene, and 4,000 gallons of foam were used in an effort to put out the fire, he said.

The Commonwealth reported that the flight was last reported to air traffic controllers at an elevation of about 20,000 feet.

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson said the NTSB is not involved in the investigation since it is a military aircraft.