The number of casualties in the C-130 plane crash in Sulu climbed to 47 as retrieval operations continue, a military official said Monday.
Major Gen. Edgard Arevalo, the spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said the bodies of the remaining 5 missing troops were recovered.
The C-130 plane crash in Sulu left 49 soldiers wounded while 3 civilians on the ground also died, and 4 others were injured.
“Retrieval operations na ng parte ng eroplano. Ang mahalaga, hindi lang ako nagkaroon ng pagkakataon alamin, ay kung narecover na ang blackbox upang sa ganun ay makakuha tayo ng technical na impormasyon,” he told ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.
(We’re now conducting retrieval operations for parts of the plane. What’s important is that I have yet to get a chance to know, we recover the blackbox to get technical information.)
The C-130 plane “missed the runway while trying to regain power,” AFP chief Gen. Cirilito Sobejana earlier said.
“Seasoned pilots ito at experienced crew ito. Sa initial information na meron tayo, tama naman ang kaniyang bilis…Tama ang approach speed, nasa tamang spot siya lumapag sa runway,” he said.
Number of deaths in C-130 plane crash in Sulu now 47
(These are seasoned pilots and experienced crew. Initial information showed that their speed was right…their approach speed was right, and they landed in the correct spot on the runway.)
The remaining C-130 planes were not allowed to fly, said Arevalo. Three are undergoing maintenance, he added.
With tail number 5125, the aircraft took off from Colonel Jesus Villamor Air Base to Lumbia Airport and subsequently ferried personnel to Jolo, Philippine Air Force Spokesman Lt. Col. Maynard Mariano earlier said.
“Sila po ay nakatakdang magsilibi sa ilalim ng 11th Infantry Division na nakadeploy sa Sulu, magiging augmentation sana sila ng puwersa,” Arevalo said.
(They were supposed to serve under the 11th Infantry Division deployed in Sulu, they were supposed to augment its forces.)
Rescue and recovery operations are ongoing.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana called on the public to refrain from spreading speculations, which allegedly would not help the tragic military C-130 plane crash.
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