Manila: A Philippine Air Force plane with 96 soldiers and crew members aboard crashed on the southern island of Jolo on Sunday, officials said. At least 50 people were killed, including three civilians on the ground, and it was feared that the toll would climb.
All the passengers and crew have been accounted for, the department informed as per a report by the IANS.
The department said that 47 soldiers and three civilians were the deceased, while 49 soldiers and four on the grounds were wounded. The retrieval process for the plane's parts and black box, which encase the cockpit communication and other records, is underway at the place of the crash, said Major General Edgard Arevalo, spokesperson of Armed Forces of the Philippines said. He added that an investigation team is on the way to the crash site.
The military aircraft C-130H has crashed after a faulty landing on Jolo island in Sulu province, overshooting the runway into a coconut grove. It was carrying newly-trained military personnel. Minutes after the crash, rescue teams reached the site, including civilian volunteers. The military had said, quoting witnesses, that some of the soldiers jumped out of the craft before it hit the ground to escape from the explosion.
According to Philippine Air Force (PAF) documents, the US military recently bought the plane. The aircraft C-130H aircraft NR 5125 first flew in 1988, was shelved by the US in 2016 before it was sold to the Philippines army in 2021, reports local media.