Death toll from military plane crash rises to 50

(From AFP)
(From AFP)

(UPDATED) More bodies have been retrieved from the crash site in Patikul, Sulu, raising the death toll to 50, the Joint Task Force (JTF) Sulu said in its latest update.

As of 10:30 p.m. Sunday, July 4, 2021, all passengers, pilots and crew have been accounted for while search was ongoing for the black box of the ill-fated aircraft.

Major Edgard Arevalo, spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said majority of the bodies were charred and were beyond physical recognition.

He declined to identify the fatalities and survivors pending notification of their families. Of the 50 fatalities, 47 were military personnel and three were civilians.

“They all have dental records for us to compare them with their remains but in instances where there may be some changes and some dental records were not updated, we have forensics in the armed forces and other agencies of the government which are going to work together in order to ensure that proper identities will be known and they will be brought home and given a decent burial as heroes of the country,” Arevalo said in a press conference Monday, July 5.

Most of the military personnel who perished had just completed training and were supposed to be deployed in Sulu.

“The AFP mourns deeply the incident that took the lives of 47 of our soldiers, most of them were fresh graduates from military training and supposed to be deployed to the 11th Infantry Division based in Jolo, Sulu, which runs after and combats the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group,” Arevalo said.

The JTF Sulu also said 49 military personnel and four civilians were injured.

As of 10:30 p.m. Sunday, 31 of the injured military personnel have been transported to Zamboanga City while 18 were being treated at the KHTB (Kuta Heneral Teodulfo Bautista) Station Hospital.

The casualties were on board a C-130 military aircraft that picked up the newly trained soldiers from Cagayan de Oro City and proceeded to Sulu.

It missed the runway and crashed at around 11:30 a.m. Sunday in Barangay Bangkal in Patikul (not Jolo as earlier announced).

Eyewitnesses said a number of soldiers jumped out of the aircraft before it hit the ground and burst into flames.

Troops and civilian volunteers rushed to the site to search and rescue.

In a press conference Monday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. offered a moment of silence for the casualties and expressed condolences to their bereaved families.

“Nagpapaabot po ng pakikiramay ang Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa pamilya ng mga nasawi... Nagluluksa hindi lamang ang sandatahang lakas ng pilipinas ngunit ang buong bansa sa malungkot na pangyayaring ito,” he said.

Vice President Leni Robredo also expressed sympathy for the survivors and families of the soldiers who perished.

In a statement, United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan expressed condolences and assured that they stand “shoulder to shoulder” with the Philippines.

"Our thoughts are with those who were injured and the families of those who were lost," he said.

“We stand shoulder to shoulder with our Philippine allies at this difficult time and are ready to provide all appropriate support to the Philippines’ response effort," he added. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)

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