The aircraft, transporting soldiers from the southern Cagayan de Oro city, crashed after it missed a runway while attempting a landing on the island of Jolo, said the airforce during a statement.
Referring to statements issued by Philippine military chief of staff General Cirilito Sobejana, news agencies reported that the crash-landing occurred shortly before noon in Bangkal village within the mountainous town of Patikul within the Sulu province.
“It’s very unfortunate,” Sobejana told reporters. “The plane missed the runway and it had been trying to regain power but failed and crashed.”
As many as 40 people are pulled out from underneath the burning wreckage, he said, confirming that the operation is currently ongoing.
However, there's no clarity yet on the precise number of passengers within the aircraft. The AFP press agency said the plane had been carrying 85 people, citing the military chief. But a Reuters report, quoting the country's defence minister Delfin Lorenzana, indicated that as many as 92 people -- including three pilots and five other crew members -- may are on the warplane .
A picture published by ABS-CBN News on Twitter showed smoke and flames pouring from the broken fuselage. The post credited Pondohan TV on Facebook for acquiring the photo from witnesses present at the location of the crash.
Notably, the central Philippines region had been experiencing heavy rainfall over the week, but it had been not immediately clear if the weather within the Sulu region was affected or if the erratic weather was the rationale behind the crash.
The airport in Sulu’s main town of Jolo is found a couple of kilometers from a mountainous area where government forces are battling the Abu Sayyaf militants within the predominantly Muslim province for many years . Some militants were also said to possess aligned themselves with the Islamic State group. The us and therefore the Philippines have separately blacklisted Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist organisation for bombings, ransom kidnappings, and beheadings. it's been considerably weakened by years of state offensives but still remains a threat, reports said.
