Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana ordered a “full investigation” into the military plane crash in Sulu over the weekend, which left 50 people dead.
“I have ordered a full investigation to get to the bottom of the C-130 incident, as soon as the rescue and recovery operation is completed,” he said.
“I ask everyone to join us in praying for the pilots, crew, passengers of the ill-fated C-130 aircraft as well as their families,” he added.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines has concluded the retrieval operations on the crashed PH Air Force C-130 military plane in Patikul, Sulu, that left 50 soldiers and civilians dead and 53 others injured.
All 96 soldiers aboard the ill-fated military plane are accounted for. Forty-seven military personnel and 3 civilians were killed.
Meanwhile, 49 military personnel and 4 civilians were wounded due to the C-130 military plane crash.
“So far, na-retrieve na po natin ang lahat ng mga labi ng ating mga sundalo na pumanaw sa aksidente na ito. Kabuuan na 47 ang na-recover natin,” Armed Forces spokesperson Major General Edgard Arevalo said.
(We have retrieved the bodies of the soldiers who died in this incident. Therefore, we recovered a total of 47 bodies.)
Defense chief orders full probe on Sulu military plane crash
“Bukod po doon sa 47 nating mga sundalo na namatay, meron pa rin pong tatlong sibilyan, hindi po sila pasahero. Kasama po sila sa ground doon sa lugar kung saan nangyari ang crash,” he said.
(Aside from the 47 soldiers who died, we have three civilian fatalities. They were not passengers. They were on the ground on the site where the crash happened.)
The Bangsamoro government said the military plane that crashed in Sulu brought COVID-19 medicines and equipment to the region.
It also extended its condolences and sympathy to the families of those killed in the C-130 military plane crash on Sunday, July 4.
“We condole with the families and loved ones of those who perished in the plane crash in Patikul, Sulu. Our heart goes out to you,” said Minister Naguib Sinarimbo, spokesperson for the Bangsamoro government and head of the Rapid Emergency Action Response on Disaster Incidence (READi) under the Ministry of Interior and Local Government (MILG).
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