Smoking from a C130 Philippine military aircraft in the area where Sulu Patikul crashed.
Infantry Division/Philippine Army
- On Sunday, a Philippine Air Force plane carrying 92 soldiers crashed.
- Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana said that 17 people were killed.
- There is no sign of being attacked.
On Sunday, a Philippine Air Force plane carrying an army crashed while landing in the southern part of the country and disintegrated in flames, killing at least 17 people.
The Lockheed C-130 transport plane crashed in Patikul, the southernmost province of the archipelago, where the army has been engaged in prolonged wars with Islamic radicals from Abu Sayyaf and other factions.
Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement: “So far, 40 wounded have been rescued and 17 bodies have been found. Rescue and recovery work is underway,” adding There are 92 people on board.
Read | 4 dead in mid-air collision between two planes in Gauteng
The military chief, Cirilito Sobejana, stated that the plane “missed the runway and tried to regain power”.
The military spokesman, Colonel Edgar De Arevalo, said that there is no sign that the aircraft has been attacked, but the crash investigation has not yet begun and the focus is on rescue and treatment.
A C130 Philippine military aircraft crashed in Patikul, Sulu on July 4, 2021.
The remains of the Philippine military crash after the plane missed the runway before noon on Sunday, July 4, 2021 in an attempt to regain power.
The screenshot shows rescuers at the crash site of the C130 Philippine military aircraft.
The pictures at the scene showed flames and thick smoke from the debris scattered in the woods as people in combat uniforms walked around.
A large cloud of black smoke rose into the blue sky. Sobejana said in a message to Reuters that the plane crashed at 11:30 (03:30 GMT) a few kilometers away from Jolo Airport and was carrying troops.
He said: “We are currently taking care of the survivors who were immediately taken to the resident hospital of the 11th Infantry Division of Sulu Holo Baba.”
Do you want to learn more about this topic? Sign up for one of News24’s 33 newsletters Receive the information you want in your inbox. Subscribers can get a special newsletter.
