THE MILITARY has thanked the local government for assisting in the emergency which saw Mayor Beng Climaco rushing at the Edwin Andrews Air Base to help bring soldiers injured in a plane crash in Sulu province that killed over 50 passengers and left dozens wounded.
Climaco sent ambulances to help the military transport the victims to hospitals. Military chief General Cirilito Sobejana, who was supervising the transport of the wounded soldiers, also met with Climaco.
The mayor condoled with Sobejana and the families of those who were killed in the fiery crash of the air force C-130 plane in Patikul town on July 4. “We pray for all who perished for God’s perpetual rest. Condolences to the bereaved families and the AFP and prayers for recovery of survivors con abrazo de Sagrada Familia,” she said.
President Rodrigo Duterte also flew to Zamboanga City with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and visited the wounded soldiers, who were all given medals. The dead were also conferred the “Order of Lapu-Lapu” with the Rank of Kalasag.
Duterte also spoke to Climaco, who joined the President in honoring those who perished in the crash.
The military said a total of 50 soldiers, including three
civilians, were killed in the crash.
It said 49 soldiers and four
civilians were also wounded when the cargo plane crashed after it overshot the
runway in the capital town of Jolo. The plane was transporting soldiers from
Cagayan de Oro City in northern Mindanao.
The military is investigating the
crash, adding all passengers and crew of the ill-fated aircraft had been
accounted for.
Photos of the crash quickly went viral on social
media with several pictures showing the two soldiers lying on the grass near
the wreckage. The crash site is surrounded by small trees and a bamboo fence
indicating it is a civilian area.
One photo shows two an army lieutenant, his head
bloodied and another soldier nearby being assisted by unidentified men,
probably soldiers too, who were on the scene. And another photo shows the
burning wreckage of the aircraft – its tail number 5125 is visible even as
black and white smoke billowed from the plane. Uniformed soldiers were also on
the scene trying to help put out the fire.
According to a report of MaxDefense Philippines,
the transport plane was the former MC-130 Combat Spear aircraft of the US
Special Operations Command. The aircraft, it said, was purchased under Horizon
2 phase using Philippine funding and U.S. military assistance grant.
The crash came four days after a Philippine
Air Force S-701 Black Hawk helicopter
crashed during night flight training in the town of Capas in Tarlac province in
central Luzon, killing all six airmen aboard.
The downed Polish-built chopper was under the 205th
Tactical Helicopter Wing based at Clark Air Base. The cause of the crash is
still being investigated.
The helicopters are manufactured by PZL Mielec, a
subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, which had also previously acquired Sikorsky, the
original manufacturer of the Black Hawk.
The Philippines acquired the helicopters under a
government-to-government deal with Poland, signing a contract worth $241
million in 2019. The Black Hawks are being bought under the U.S. ally’s
five-year Horizon 2 modernization program, which will run from 2018-2022. (Zamboanga
Post, Mindanao Examiner)
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