C-130 aircraft was carrying 96 passengers | Search on for missing soldiers | Worst air disaster in 30 yrs45 killed in Philippine military plane crash

MANILA, July 4

A Philippine air force C-130 aircraft carrying combat troops assigned to fight Muslim militants crashed and exploded while landing in the south on Sunday, killing at least 42 soldiers on board and three civilians on the ground in the country’s worst military air disaster in nearly 30 years.

At least 49 other soldiers were rescued with injuries and survived the fiery noontime crash into a coconut grove outside the Jolo airport in Sulu province, including some who managed to jump off the aircraft before it exploded and was gutted by fire, military officials said.

Three of seven villagers, who were hit on the ground, died. The Lockheed C-130 had 96 persons on board, including three pilots and five crew while the rest were army personnel, the military said, adding that only five soldiers remained unaccounted for late Sunday. The officials said the injured personnel were brought to a hospital in Sulu or flown to nearby Zamboanga city and troops were continuing to search for the missing.

The plane had attempted to land at the Jolo airport, but overshot the runway without touching down. It failed to regain enough power and height and crashed at nearby Patikul. Military chief Cirilito Sobejana said the plane had “missed the runway trying to regain power”. A military spokesman, Colonel Edgard Arevalo, said there was no sign of any attack on the plane, but an investigation had yet to begin as efforts were focused on rescue and treatment.

The military command said the soldiers aboard had the rank of private and were being deployed to their battalions. They were flying to the provincial airport of Jolo from Laguindingan, about 460 km (290 miles) to the northeast.

The army in the sprawling Philippine archipelago has been fighting a long war against Islamist militants from Abu Sayyaf and other factions. “They were supposed to join us in our fight against terrorism,” said Commander William N Gonzales of Joint Task Force Sulu. The Lockheed C-130H Hercules aircraft, with registration 5125, had only recently arrived in the Philippines. — Agencies