Dozens of military personnel are on a mission against rebels in the Philippines when their plane crashes on landing and goes up in flames. At least 29 soldiers and two civilians die.
Manila – In the Philippines, a military plane had an accident on its flight to a mission in the south of the island state. At least 29 of the 96 occupants were killed when the C-130 Hercules plane crashed on landing, said military chief William Gonzales.
17 soldiers are still missing, while 50 injured have been rescued. “We hope to find more survivors,” said Gonzales, who heads an anti-terrorist unit. The soldiers were on their way “to join our fight against terrorism.”
In addition to 88 passengers, there were three pilots and five crew members in the transport machine when it missed the runway on arrival in Patikul on the island of Jolo in the morning (local time). While trying to get started again, it crashed and went up in flames, said military spokesman Cirilito Sobejana. Two civilians are said to have been killed and four others injured.
The plane hit the coconut trees and burned out completely except for the stern. Then thick black smoke rose. “Eyewitnesses say that some soldiers jumped off the plane before it hit the ground, so they survived the explosion,” said Gonzales. They were taken to a military hospital on Jolo.
Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana said he had ordered a full investigation to clarify the cause of the accident once the rescue operation was over. The plane was reportedly taken off from an air force base near Manila and then on its way to Jolo via Cagayan de Oro on Mindanao Island. She transported “army personnel who reported for duty,” said Lorenzana. Many reportedly had just completed their training and were on their way to their first assignments.
According to a report in the newspaper “Manila Bulletin”, the soldiers were supposed to support the fight against extremists of the Abu Sayyaf group in Sulu province. The Filipino military has been fighting the organization in the Muslim south of the country for decades. It wants to establish an Islamic state of God in the region and is mainly financed by kidnapping foreigners.
The crash is one of the deadliest accidents in the history of military aviation in the Southeast Asian state. In June, a military helicopter crashed on a night training flight in the northern province of Tarlac. All six inmates were killed. dpa
