At Least 30 Dead, 50 Injured In Philippines Military Plane Crash

A C-130 Hercules transport aircraft of the Philippine Air Force with 85 servicemen on board crashed a few kilometers from the Jolo Airport in Sulu Province at 11: 30 local time on July 4. 

#Philippines military #Aircraft C-130 crashed,death toll rises to 29 ,total 90 no .Of troops were carrying from Cagayan de oro, on the southern island of #Mindanao.#PhilippinesPlaneCrash#planecrash #sulu pic.twitter.com/NIGYXIor7n

— Bapun (@Bapun_27) July 4, 2021

At least 31 soldiers were killed as a result of the accident. 50 soldiers were found injured and were taken to the hospital of the 11th Infantry Division in Busbus.

Most of the passengers had recently graduated recently from basic military training and were being deployed as part of a joint taskforce fighting terrorism in the Muslim-majority region.

The chief of the armed forces, Gen Cirilito Sobejana, said the aircraft had been carrying troops from Cagayan de Oro on the southern island of Mindanao when it missed the runway as it tried to land on Jolo.

A photograph purportedly taken near the crash site shows a large billow of smoke rising up into the sky.

TINGNAN:

Makapal na usok mula sa bumagsak na eroplano sa Patikul, Sulu ang sumalubong sa mga residente ngayong Linggo ng umaga, Hulyo 4. pic.twitter.com/7wcnQOBOzb

— PTVph (@PTVph) July 4, 2021

Other videos and photographs posted to social media appear to show a large fire at the scene of the accident.

The Philippines military also released images taken at the site. 

LOOK: Photos of crash site in Patikul, Sulu released by the @TeamAFP thru the 11th Infantry Division of the @yourphilarmy based in Jolo | @cnnphilippines pic.twitter.com/vrY5sBIrJu

— David Y. Santos (@davidyusantos) July 4, 2021

In a statement, the Philippines defense department said that it was focusing all available resources on the rescue operation, and asked the public to refrain from “speculative statements about the unfortunate incident.”