A US army service member and three protection contractors had been killed Thursday when their aircraft crashed within the Philippines, officers stated.
The plane, which was contracted by the US army, had been finishing up “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance help” when it went down in a rice area in the Maguindanao del Sur province within the nation’s south, US Indo-Pacific Command stated.
“We are able to affirm no survivors of the crash,” US officers stated in an announcement.
“The incident occurred throughout a routine mission in help of US-Philippine safety cooperation actions.”
The army didn’t reveal what sort of plane was concerned and stated the reason for the wreck was nonetheless being investigated.
The names of the crew had been additionally being withheld pending household notifications, officers stated.
The our bodies of the 4 individuals had already been retrieved from the wreckage, in response to Ameer Jehad Tim Ambolodto, a security officer within the area.
Windy Beaty, a provincial disaster-mitigation officer, stated residents had noticed smoke coming from the aircraft and heard an explosion earlier than the plane plummeted to the bottom.
Nobody else was injured on or close to the wreck web site, native officers stated – however a water buffalo was killed because of the crash.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines confirmed the crash however didn’t supply extra particulars.
US forces have been deployed in a Philippine army camp within the nation’s south for many years in a bid to assist native forces battle Muslim militants.
With Publish wires
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