At least 29 people were killed on Sunday when a Philippines Air Force plane carrying troops crashed on landing and broke up in flames, the country’s worst military air disaster in nearly 30 years.
According to multiple local media reports in Philippines, the crash occurred on Sunday morning, July 4, 2021. The Lockheed C-130 aircraft reportedly carrying troops bound for counter-insurgency operations crashed with 96 aboard at Patikul in the far southern province of Sulu.
Nearly 100 people, most of them recent army graduates, were on the C-130 Hercules transport plane which was trying to land on Jolo island in Sulu province around midday crashed on landing and broke up in flames.
Some of the soldiers were seen jumping out of the plane before it hit the ground and exploded into flames, said Major General William Gonzales, commander of the Joint Task Force-Sulu.
The army in the sprawling Philippine archipelago has been fighting a long war against Islamist militants from Abu Sayyaf and other factions.
