In a tragic incident, a military plane carrying at least 85 people crashed in the southern Philippines on Sunday, the chief of the armed forces of the Philippines said.
According to the reports, the Philippine military transport plane C-130 carrying at least 85 people crashed in the southern part of the country. As of now, 40 people have been rescued, and a search and rescue mission has already started to trace the remaining people on the plane.
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C-130 Hercules plane crash. pic.twitter.com/cp91OXKEG2 https://t.co/EhcDmE7hOU
The burning wreckage of the C-130 was found near Sulu province by the villagers, who said that the military aircraft crashed during its landing on the Jolo islands after it missed the runway.
“Responders are at the site now, we are praying we can save more lives,” General Cirilito Sobejana said.
Reportedly, many of the passengers had recently graduated from basic military training and were being deployed to Jolo islands as part of a joint task force fighting terrorism in the Muslim-majority region. The military has a heavy presence in the southern Philippines, where terror groups, including the kidnap-for-ransom outfit Abu Sayyaf, operate.