At least 29 people Killed and 50 injured: Military Plane Crashes After Missing Runway

Philippine: At least 29 people were killed and 50 injured on Sunday when a Philippine military aircraft carrying troops crashed and burst into flames after missing the runway in the country’s south, officials said.

Another 17 on board the C-130 Hercules transport plane when it crashed while trying to land on Jolo island in Sulu province are still missing, Major General William Gonzales said in a statement. “This is a sad day but we have to remain hopeful,” he said.

Ninety-two people, most of them army personnel, were on board the aircraft when it crashed on Jolo island in Sulu province around midday, Defence Secretary Delfin said. “While transporting our troops from Cagayan de Oro (on the southern island of Mindanao), it missed the runway, trying to regain power but it didn’t make it,” Sobejana told local media, describing the accident as “very unfortunate”. “Responders are at the site now, we are praying we can save more lives,” Sobejana told.

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