C-130 aircraft Crashed after leaving the runway.
Philippines plane crash: A Philippine Air Force C-130 plane crashed in the southern province after missing a runway on Sunday, killing at least 17 military personnel, while at least 40 were rescued from burning debris, officials said.
Defense Secretary Delphine Lorenzana said rescue efforts were on. He said there were 92 people on board the plane, including three pilots and five crew. The rest were army men.
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules was one of two former US Air Force aircraft handed over to the Philippines this year as part of military aid. Chief of Staff General Sirilito Sobejana said it crashed shortly before Sunday afternoon while landing in the village of Bangkal in the mountain town of Patikul in Sulu province.
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Sobejana said the plane was carrying troops from the southern city of Cagayan de Oro. Government forces in the Muslim-majority province of Sulu have been battling Abu Sayyaf’s extremists for decades. It was not immediately clear what caused the accident.
“It’s very unfortunate,” Sobejana told reporters. “The plane missed the runway and it was trying to regain power but failed and crashed.”
Sobejana said at least 40 people on board the plane were taken to hospital and the army was trying to rescue the rest.
It is raining in the central Philippines but it is not immediately clear whether the weather in the Sulu region has been affected. The airport in Sulu’s main city of Jolo is located a few kilometers (miles) from a mountainous area where soldiers fought Abu Sayyaf. Some militants have linked themselves to the Islamic State group.
The United States and the Philippines have separately blacklisted Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist organization for carrying out bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings. It has been greatly weakened by years of government invasions but remains a threat.
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