A Philippine air force C-130 aircraft loaded with combat troops crashed on Sunday.

The plane had botched a landing and was attempting to regain power when it went down.

The latest reporting has shown 29 soldiers and two civilians died in the accident.

Tragedy Strikes

The only solace from this crash was that 50 people were reportedly rescued from the crash.

Witnesses stated that some soldiers could be seen jumping off the plane just before it went down.

The crash occurred in the periphery of the Jolo airport in Sulu province.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana stated that a total of 96 people were on board, so there are still a few bodies unaccounted for in the wreckage, which means that the death toll is likely to rise.

The soldiers on board has just completed training and were headed for deployment in Sulu.

Sulu military commander Maj. Gen. William Gonzales stated, “They were supposed to join us in our fight against terrorism.”

Military chief of staff Gen. Cirilito Sobejana stated, “It’s very unfortunate. The plane missed the runway and it was trying to regain power but failed and crashed.”

The runway in question is reportedly much smaller than other runways, so the landings can be quite tricky, which is what appears to be the case here.

Source: Fox News