On Sunday, a Philippine Air Force aircraft crashed in the southern Philippines, killing fifty people. It was the country’s worst military air accident in decades.
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On Sunday, a Philippines Air Force C. 130 aircraft carrying 96 combat soldiers and crew members crashed and burst into flames on the southern island, killing at least 50 people, including two civilians on the ground.
According to the Philippine Armed Forces commander, the aircraft missed the runway while attempting to land on Jolo island. He informed local media that the aircraft tried to restore power but could not do so, calling the event “truly tragic.”
The aircraft came down in the village of Bangkal, located in the town of Patikul, a stronghold of the terrorist organization Abu Sayyaf. The three pilots on the aircraft escaped the accident but sustained severe injuries.
Lieutenant colonel Maynard Mariano, an Air Force spokesperson, said the reason for the accident would be examined. “We are now in rescue mode,” Mariano informed. “There was no indication that the aircraft had been targeted,” Major-General Edgard Arevalo, a spokesperson for the armed forces, told local media.
The aircraft, formerly assigned to the United States Air Force, was transferred to the Philippines in January. Local media captured images of the plane’s wreckage enveloped in flames. A cloud of dense black smoke soared over nearby homes.
