MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine troops found the last five dead from the crash of a transport aircraft in the south, raising the death toll to 50 in the military’s worst air disaster.
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules was carrying combat troops, many of the new recruits, who were being deployed in the battle against Abu Sayyaf militants.
It overshot the runway while landing Sunday, slammed into a coconut grove and burst into flames in a noontime disaster witnessed by horrified soldiers and villagers.
Some of the 49 troops rescued had jumped off the aircraft before it exploded.
Three people died on the ground. The plane was a refurbished U.S. Air Force aircraft handed over to the Philippines this year.
