JAKARTA - At least 29 people died on Sunday, July 4 when a Philippine Air Force plane carrying troops crashed on landing and caught fire.
It was the country's worst military air disaster in nearly 30 years.
Photos from the scene showed flames and smoke billowing from the rubble strewn among the trees as people in combat uniforms passed by. Meanwhile, thick black smoke rose from the coconut trees into the sky.
A Lockheed C-130 transport plane carrying troops to a counter-insurgency operation crashed with 96 on board in Patikul in Sulu province.
Twenty-nine bodies have been retrieved and 50 people have been taken to hospital, while 17 others have not been found, the military said in a statement, adding there was hope for survivors.
"A number of soldiers were seen jumping out of the plane before it hit the ground, saving them from the explosion caused by the crash", said the Sulu Joint Task Force, in a statement quoted by Reuters from Antara.
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Military chief Cirilito Sobejana said the plane "lost the runway trying to regain power".
A military spokesman, Colonel Edgard Arevalo, said there was no sign of an attack on the plane, but an investigation into the crash had not yet begun and efforts were focused on rescue and maintenance.
Military command said the soldiers on board the plane were of the rank of soldiers, and were being deployed to their battalions. They flew to the airport in Jolo Province from Laguindingan, about 460 kilometers to the northeast.
"They should join us in the fight against terrorism", said Commander William N. Gonzales of the Sulu Joint Task Force.
Soldiers in the sprawling Philippine archipelago have been fighting a long-running war against Islamist militants from the Abu Sayyaf and other factions.
Jolo Island is about 950 kilometers south of the capital Manila.
A Lockheed C-130H Hercules aircraft, registered 5125, has just arrived in the Philippines.
Citing the official government website uploaded in January, it is one of two aircraft provided by the United States government through the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The aircraft will be used to increase the capability of heavy airlift missions.
The C-130.net website says the plane that crashed was first flown in 1988. The model is a vehicle for armed forces around the world.
The Philippine armed forces have an uneven air safety record. Last month a Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training mission, killing six people.
A Philippine Air Force C-130 crash in 1993 killed 30 people. A 2008 crash of a civilian variant of a Lockheed plane flown by the Philippine Air Force killed 11 people, the Aviation Safety Network said.
The country's worst plane crash was an Air Philippines Boeing 737 in 2000, which killed 131 people.
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