Philippine Military Plane Crashes, Killing Dozens

MANILA—A Philippine air force C-a hundred thirty aircraft carrying battle troops assigned to fight Muslim militants crashed and exploded while landing in the south Sunday, killing at least forty two army soldiers on board and a few civilians on the floor in one particular of the worst disasters in the air force’s historical past.

At least 49 other soldiers were being rescued with injuries and survived the fiery noontime crash into a coconut grove exterior the Jolo airport in Sulu province, such as some who managed to bounce off the aircraft before it exploded and was gutted by fire, armed forces officials explained. Three of 7 villagers who were being hit on the floor died.

The aircraft had ninety six men and women on board, such as a few pilots and five crew while the relaxation were being army personnel, the armed forces explained, introducing that five soldiers remained unaccounted for late Sunday. The pilots survived but were being very seriously hurt, officials explained.

The Lockheed C-a hundred thirty Hercules was one particular of two ex-U.S. Air Drive aircraft handed in excess of to the Philippines as section of armed forces aid this year.

The aircraft originally took off from Manila with only a couple of travellers, such as a two-star army basic, Romeo Brawner Jr., who disembarked with his wife and a few children in Cagayan de Oro metropolis, where by he is established to turn out to be the new armed forces regional commander on Monday. The army troops then boarded the C-a hundred thirty in Cagayan de Oro for the flight to Sulu.