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Death Toll In Philippines Military Plane Crash Rises To 52
Philippine security forces searched among coconut trees on a remote southern island Monday for the flight data boxes of an aircraft that crashed and killed 52 people in one of the country’s worst military air disasters.
The C-130 Hercules transport plane was carrying 96 people, most of them recent army graduates, when it overshot the runway on Sunday while trying to land on Jolo island in Sulu province — a haven for Islamist militants.
The plane “skidded” and burst into flames in a village, killing 52 people including 49 military personnel and three civilians, said military spokesman Major General Edgard Arevalo.
Another 51 were injured, most of them soldiers. It was not clear if the pilots were among the survivors.
“This is one of the worst tragic incidents that happened in our armed forces,” Arevalo said.
The three civilians killed were not on the flight and had been working in a quarry, village leader Tanda Hailid told AFP.
They were relatives of Agga Ahaddi, who was lucky to survive the crash. He and his child were outside when the plane ploughed through their house and then a neighbour’s home.
“We ran away, we just left,” Ahaddi told AFP.
Photos of the scene released by the military’s Joint Task Force-Sulu showed the damaged tail and smoking wreckage scattered in a coconut grove.
“We have people on the ground to make sure the integrity of the pieces of the evidence that we will retrieve, most particularly the flight data recorder,” Arevalo said.
“Aside from eyewitness accounts, we are also looking for recordings, radio conversation recordings between the pilot and the control tower.”
Arevalo said the military had secured the crash site and would ensure militants on the island do not disrupt search efforts.
Dental records were being used to help identify the charred remains of victims.
Most of the passengers recently graduated from basic military training and were being deployed to the restive island as part of a counter-insurgency effort 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.
‘Worst crash’
Site of the plane crash. Photo: AFP
C-130s have been the workhorses of air forces around the world for decades, used to transport troops, supplies, and vehicles.
The second-hand Hercules that crashed Sunday was acquired from the United States and delivered to the Philippines earlier this year.
It was one of four in the country’s fleet and was in “very good condition”, the military said. Two others are being repaired while the third has been grounded following the crash.
“These are all seasoned and experienced pilots, that’s why we are also unable to immediately say how this… (happened),” said Arevalo.
“Even if these (military assets) are not brand new… these are airworthy.”
“This ranks as the worst crash of a Philippine military aircraft,” Jose Antonio Custodio, a military historian and analyst, told AFP.
It was the latest in a series of recent military air accidents in the Philippines.
Last month, a Black Hawk helicopter went down during a night-time training flight, killing all six onboard. The accident prompted the grounding of the country’s entire Black Hawk fleet.
President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman Harry Roque said Monday the incidents would provide “impetus for further modernisation” of the armed forces.
“The whole country is mourning,” he said.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Oyo South Senatorial District, Hon. Aderemi Oseni, has approved N100 million for the immediate rehabilitation of a major access road linking seven communities in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Oseni, who represents Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, announced the intervention on Saturday at a town hall meeting with residents and community leaders from Power Line, Awonsoso, Siba, Olupoyi, Balogun, Baba Agba and Agaloke communities.
The lawmaker said the decision followed a request by the community stakeholders, who identified the poor condition of the road as their most pressing need. He assured the residents that the rehabilitation would be completed within four months.
Oseni said the intervention was part of his commitment to people-centred representation, stressing that his legislative activities had been focused on issues capable of improving the lives of Nigerians.
He said, “Within the three years plus, I have sponsored bills and moved motions that are carefully designed to positively impact the lives and livelihoods of citizens.”
According to him, some of the legislative initiatives include moves to amend the Federal Medical Centres Act to establish a Federal Medical Centre in Ido Local Government Area, stronger sanctions for contractors who fail to execute government projects according to specifications, and measures to improve accountability in the management of public contracts.
Oseni added that he had also advocated subsidised farm machinery for farmers, measures to reduce the cost of cancer treatment, improved food storage through modern silos and processing facilities, as well as urgent action on flooding and recurring building collapses in major cities among several others.
The lawmaker said his engagements with communities across Oyo South should not be viewed solely through the prism of the 2027 elections, despite the commencement of political activities.
“My visit here today is not to solicit for votes, but to listen and find practical ways to attend to the requests and plights of my people,” he said.
Oseni also disclosed that he had facilitated the distribution of 31 transformers across Ido and Ibarapa, with about 80 per cent of the cost funded through his foundation. He added that other interventions had included solar-powered street lights, boreholes, bridges, public toilets, educational support, infrastructure, health care services, youth and women empowerment, and assistance to artisans, traders and markets across the senatorial district.
The APC chieftain further noted that some youths had also received N1 million each as seed capital to start small businesses.
Oseni acknowledged that his primary responsibility as a federal lawmaker was to make laws and provide effective representation, but said the gap created by ineffective governance at the grassroots had made it necessary for him to support communities through interventions.
He urged youths to remain focused and resilient, recounting how he worked as a bus conductor to raise money for his secondary education before becoming an engineer, businessman and legislator.
Earlier, Chief Muibi Adegoke, Baale of Awonsoso, and Chief Azeez Saka, Baale of Elere Apata, commended the lawmaker for what they described as his performance in legislation and community development. They pledged their support for his political aspiration ahead of the 2027 election.
The meeting was attended by traditional rulers, religious leaders, community elders, women and youth leaders from the affected communities.
(c) Mega Icon Magazine
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