Jubilee Post News & Views
Special Desk
At least 45 people were killed as a military plane crashed in the southern Philippines, and dozens were rescued alive from the burning wreckage while five are still missing.
The plane had more than 90 on board, mostly troops, when it overshot the runway on Jolo island. The dead are mainly military personnel, but three civilians on the ground were also killed, the defence ministry said in a statement.
The plane, previously in service with the US Air Force, was handed to the Philippines in January. It was the first of two used Hercules to be delivered by the US under a defence co-operation scheme.
Rescue workers scoured the wreckage of the Lockheed C130 Hercules in a wood near several buildings. The aircraft burst into flames on crashing, sending a large black cloud into the air.
Those rescued were taken to the nearest military hospital. The plane, which came down at 03:30 GMT a few kilometres from the town of Jolo, was carrying troops from Cagayan de Oro, on the southern island of Mindanao.
“It missed the runway, trying to regain power but it didn’t make it,” armed forces chief Gen Sobejana told media.
A statement from the regional military force, Joint Task Force Sulu, said “a number of soldiers were seen jumping out of the aircraft before it hit the ground, sparing them from the explosion caused by the crash”. No details about how they managed to get out of the plane or their condition were given.
Officials said there was no sign that the aircraft had been attacked, and an investigation would start once the rescue operation was complete.
