MANILA—A Philippine air power C-130 plane carrying beat troops assigned to fight Muslim militants crashed and exploded though landing in the south Sunday, killing at least forty two military troopers on board and a few civilians on the floor in a single of the worst disasters in the air force’s historical past.
At least 49 other troopers had been rescued with injuries and survived the fiery noontime crash into a coconut grove exterior the Jolo airport in Sulu province, which include some who managed to leap off the plane ahead of it exploded and was gutted by fire, armed forces officials explained. 3 of seven villagers who had been hit on the floor died.
The plane experienced 96 people today on board, which include a few pilots and 5 crew though the relaxation had been military staff, the armed forces explained, including that 5 troopers remained unaccounted for late Sunday. The pilots survived but had been very seriously wounded, officials explained.
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules was a single of two ex-U.S. Air Pressure plane handed in excess of to the Philippines as portion of armed forces assistance this year.
The plane originally took off from Manila with only a few travellers, which include a two-star military typical, Romeo Brawner Jr., who disembarked with his spouse and a few small children in Cagayan de Oro metropolis, where by he is set to grow to be the new armed forces regional commander on Monday. The military troops then boarded the C-130 in Cagayan de Oro for the flight to Sulu.
