A Philippine Air Force (PAF) plane with 92 people aboard crashed on Sunday while attempting to land on Jolo island in Sulu province, killing 17 persons and injuring 40 others.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement that among the 92 personnel on board the C-130 Hercules transport, three were pilots and five crew members, with the rest being "Army personnel reporting for duty", reports Xinhua news agency.
Rescue and recovery operations are ongoing, Lorenzana added.
The photos taken by the local media showed the wrecked body of the plane engulfed in flames. The thick smoke rose above the houses, located near the site of the plane crash.
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Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in a statement said that 92 people, most of them were army personnel, were on the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft when it met with the accident. According to the defense secretary the accident happened as it tried to land on Jolo island in Sulu province around midday.
Lorenzana said, “So far 40 wounded and injured people were rescued and 17 dead bodies are recovered.”
Armed Forces Chief General Cirilito Sobejana said that the aircraft was carrying troops from Cagayan de Oro on the southern island of Mindanao and the plane crashed as it tried to land on Jolo island.
He described the incident as “unfortunate” and said that the plane tried to “regain power but it didn’t make it.”
He further said, “Responders are at the site now, we are praying we can save more lives.”
He added that at least 40 injured people are hospitalized and are being treated at the 11th Infantry Division Hospital.
Lieutenant Colonel Maynard Mariano told the media that the cause of the crash would be investigated and “we are on rescue mode right now.”
A maximum of the passengers was recently graduated from basic military training and was deployed at the restive island.
This accident happened just a month after the Black Hawk helicopter was crashed during the night-time training flight. The accident took the life of six onboard troops, including three pilots and three airmen. The incident took place near the Crow Valley training range north of Manila.