17 killed in military plane crash in southern Philippines

A Philippine Air Force (PAF) C-130 Hercules transport plane with 92 people aboard crashed on Sunday while attempting to land on Jolo island in Sulu province in the southern Philippines, killing 17 and and injuring 40 others.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement that among the 92 personnel on board the plane, three are pilots and five are crew members, with the rest being "Army personnel reporting for duty."

Rescue and recovery operations are ongoing, Lorenzana added.

Armed Forces of the Philippine chief of staff General Cirilito Sobejana said earlier the plane was transporting troops from Cagayan de Oro City on Mindanao island when it crashed around 11:30am local time on Jolo island.

"The plane missed the runway and tried to regain power but failed," Sobejana said.

"Responders are at the site now," he said, expressing hope that more people on the plane will be saved from the wreckage.

The PAF said in an official statement that the C-130 aircraft has a tail "#5125." The plane took off from the PAF airbase in Metro Manila to Cagayan de Oro City in northern Mindanao before heading to Jolo.

The crash on Sunday is the latest tragedy of the Philippine Air Force this year.

In June this year, one of the Philippine Air Force's newly acquired S-70i Black Hawk utility helicopters, crashed north of Manila, killing its six crew members.