Dozens killed in plane crash
A Philippine air force C-130 aircraft carrying troops crashed in a southern province while trying to land yesterday, killing at least 29 military personnel, officials said.
A Philippine air force C-130 aircraft carrying troops crashed in a southern province while trying to land yesterday, killing at least 29 military personnel, officials said.
At least 50 others were rescued from the burning wreckage.
Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said rescue and recovery efforts were continuing.
Military officials said there were 92 people on board the plane, including three pilots and five crew. The rest were army personnel.
The pilots survived but were seriously injured and at least four villagers on the ground were also injured, the officials said.
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules was one of two ex-us Air Force aircraft handed over to the philippinesas part of military assistance this year.
It crashed while landing shortly before noon on Sunday in Bangkal village in the mountainous town of Patikul in Sulu province, military chief of staff General Cirilito Sobejana said.
Officials said at least 50 people on board were taken to hospital and troops were trying to search for the rest.
A military statement said: "A number of soldiers were seen jumping out of the aircraft before it hit the ground, spa ring them from the explosion caused by the crash."
Initial pictures released by the military showed the tail section of the cargo plane. The other parts of the plane were burned or scattered in pieces in a clearing surrounded by coconut trees.
Soldiers and other rescuers with stretchers were seen dashing to and from the smoke shrouded crash site.
The plane was transporting troops, many of them new soldiers who had just undergone basic training, from southern Cagayan de Oro city for deployment in Sulu, officials said.
Government forces have been battling Abu Sayyaf militants in the predominantly Muslim province for decades.
It was not immediately clear what caused the crash.
Regional military commander Lieutenant General Corleto Vinluan said it is unlikely that the aircraft came under hostile fire and cited witnesses as saying that it appeared to have over shot the runway at jo lo and then crashed in the periphery of the airport, injuring at least four villagers on the ground.
"It' s very unfortunate ," generalso be jana told reporters ." the plane missed the runway and it was trying to regain power but failed and crashed."
The runway is shorter than most others in the country, making it more difficult for pilots to adjust if an aircraft misses the landing spot.
The airport in Sulu's main town of Jolo is located a few miles from a mountainous area where troops have battled Abu Sayyaf militants. Some militants have aligned themselveswith the islamic state( is) group.
The US and the Philippines have separately black listed abu Sayyaf as a terrorist organisation for bombings, ransom kidnappings and be headings. it has been considerably weakened by years of government offensives but remains a threat.
President Rodrigo Duterte expanded the military presence in Sulu into a full division in late 2018, deploying hundreds of additional troops, air force aircraft and other combat equipment after vowing to wipe out Abu Sayyaf and allied foreign and local gunmen.