A military plane transporting troops has crashed in the southern Philippines after missing the runway during landing on Sunday, the military chief said.
General Cirilito Sobejana told reporters that at least 40 people have been rescued from the burning wreckage of the C-130, which crashed as it tried to land on Jolo Island, 1,000km (621 miles) south of the capital Manila.
“Responders are at the site now. We are praying we can save more lives,” Sobejana said.
“It’s very unfortunate. The plane missed the runway, and it was trying to regain power but failed and crashed.”
Al Jazeera’s Jamela Alindogan reporting from the capital, Manila said medivac helicopters have been deployed to the crash site to transport the injured to nearby hospital.
“The C-130 is one of the newly-acquired planes by the Philippines air force last February. The area where the crashed happened is home to one of the huge bases of the Philippines military. So transporting personnel is almost routine,” Alindogan added.
C-130 aircraft, the work horses of the air force, are used to transport troops and supplies. They are also often deployed to deliver humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
The accident comes after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed last month during a night-time training flight, killing all six on board.
Three pilots and three airmen died when their S70-i went down near the Crow Valley training range north of Manila, prompting the grounding of the entire fleet.
The Philippines ordered 16 of the multi-role aircraft from a Polish firm that made them under licence from the Sikorsky division of US defence manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
Eleven have been delivered since late 2020.
Al Jazeera
