A Philippine air force C-130 aircraft carrying combat troops assigned to fight Muslim militants crashed and exploded while landing in the south Sunday, killing 47 soldiers on board and three civilians on the ground.
A Philippine air force C-130 aircraft carrying combat troops assigned to fight Muslim militants crashed and exploded while landing in the south Sunday, killing 47 soldiers on board and three civilians on the ground.
Jim Gomez/Associated press
  • A military plane carrying 96 people "missed the runway" and crashed in Jolo Island in the Philippines, 600 miles south of Manila.
  • Fifty people were killed, including three civilians on the ground, according to the military.
  • This is the fourth deadly air crash in the Philippines this year.
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A military plane carrying 96 people crashed in southern Philippines on Sunday, killing 50 people, including three civilians on the ground, with 49 others injured.

Everyone on board is now accounted for, the military said Monday, according to a Reuters report.

The Lockheed C-130 transport aircraft was carrying troops from Cagayan de Oro on Mindanao Island in southern Philippines, to Jolo island in Sulu province, which is 600 miles south of capital Manila.

The plane was carrying troops from Mindanao island to Jolo in Sulu.
The plane was carrying troops from Mindanao island to Jolo in Sulu.
Insider/Google Maps screenshot

The plane was supposed to land at Jolo airport but "missed the runway trying to regain power," Military chief Cirilito Sobejana said, according to a New York Times report, crashing near Bangkal village in the town of Patikul.

In a statement to Reuters, the Joint Task Force Sulu said that "a number of soldiers were seen jumping out of the aircraft before it hit the ground."

The soldiers on the plane were being sent to Jolo as part of an operation against the Abu Sayyaf Islamist group, which the Philippine government considers a terrorist organization. Those on board included new soldiers who had just completed their military training, according to CNN Philippines.

Officials said there was no sign the aircraft had been attacked. Defense Secretary of the Philippines Delfin Lorenzana said in a tweet he has ordered a full investigation "as soon as the rescue and recovery operation is completed."

This is the fourth deadly crash in the Philippines this year, reported CNN Philippines, bringing into question the air-worthiness of planes, both civilian and military.

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