Death Toll in Philippine Air Force Plane Crash Rises to 52

Military officials said the plane, with 96 soldiers and crew members aboard, missed the runway at Jolo airport on an island in the country’s far south. Witnesses saw soldiers leap out to try to save themselves in the moments before the aircraft crashed into a patch of thick brush and palm trees, according to a statement and photographs provided by the Joint Task Force Sulu, the military’s local unit. Of those aboard, 49 were killed and 47 were injured, military spokesman Marine Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said Monday, following after a rescue mission that continued late into the previous night.

The photographs provided by the Joint Task Force showed thick smoke billowing from the crash site as rescuers rummaged through the wreckage for survivors, surrounded by tropical vegetation on the outskirts of a small village. Little appeared to be left of the aircraft, with the tail number 5125 still visible amid the debris, after an explosion caused by the impact.

The Joint Task Force said the plane was carrying new army privates deployed to fight militants. “They were supposed to join us in our fight against terrorism,” unit commander Gen. William N. Gonzales said in a statement.

The island of Jolo has long been a battleground between the Philippine military and Abu Sayyaf, a small insurgent group affiliated with Islamic State, which is designated as a terrorist organization by governments including the Philippines and the U.S. The group was behind the 2004 bombing of a ferry near Manila that killed 116 people, according to the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center.

The Philippine Air Force has a patchy air-safety record. Late last month, a Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a nighttime training exercise just north of Manila, killing six crewmen.

The country, a longtime U.S. ally, has sought in recent years to upgrade its military equipment. In June, the U.S. State Department approved the sale of 12 F-16 jets and related gear. The Hercules aircraft that crashed on Sunday was one of two recently acquired by the Philippines from the U.S.

According to an online database that tracks the model globally, C-130.net, the plane first flew in 1988 and was operated by the U.S. Air Force until January of this year, when it became the property of the Philippines.

Write to Feliz Solomon at [email protected]