[UPDATED] 45 killed as Philippine military plane crashes after ‘missing runway’

COTABATO –  At least 45 people were killed and dozens injured today when a Philippine military aircraft carrying troops crashed and burst into flames after missing the runway in the south of the country, said officials.

Nearly a hundred people, most of them recent army graduates, were on the C-130 Hercules transport plane, which was trying to land on Jolo in Sulu province around midday.

Some of the soldiers were seen jumping out of the aircraft before it hit the ground and exploded into flames, said Joint Task Force-Sulu commander William Gonzales.

It is one of the deadliest military aviation accidents in the country.

“This is a sad day, but we have to remain hopeful,” said Gonzales in a statement.

“We enjoin the nation to pray for those who are injured and those who have perished in this tragedy.”

Among the dead are 42 soldiers and three civilians, according to the Philippines Armed Forces. Forty-nine military personnel and four civilians were also injured and taken to hospital.

Five members of the military are still missing.

#Philippines
C-130 Hercules plane crash. pic.twitter.com/cp91OXKEG2 https://t.co/EhcDmE7hOU

— Shane B. Murphy (@shanermurph) July 4, 2021

Photos of the crash site released by the Joint Task Force-Sulu show the damaged tail and smoking wreckage of the fuselage’s back section lying near coconut trees.

Images published by local media outlet Pondohan TV on its Facebook page showed the wreckage engulfed in flames, and a plume of thick black smoke rising above houses located near the site.

Armed Forces chief Cirilito Sobejana said the aircraft was carrying troops from Cagayan de Oro on the southern island of Mindanao when it “missed the runway” as it tried to land on Jolo.

The plane tried to “regain power, but didn’t make it”, he told local media.

Western Mindanao Command chief Corletan Vinluan said the aircraft overshot the landing strip and broke into two, according to initial reports.

Air force spokesman Maynard Mariano said the cause of the crash will be investigated, while armed forces spokesman Edgard Arevalo told DZBB radio that it is being treated as an accident rather than an attack.

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

They were supposed to report for duty today, said Gonzales.

The military has a heavy presence in the southern Philippines where militant groups, including the kidnap-for-ransom outfit Abu Sayyaf, operate. – AFP, July 4, 2021