Philippines plane crash: Moment aircraft smashed into ground killing 50

Philippines plane crash: Moment aircraft smashed into ground killing 50

This is the moment a military plane crashed killing 47 soldiers and three civilians in the Philippines on Sunday (July 4).

This is the moment a military plane crashed killing 47 soldiers and three civilians in the Philippines on Sunday (July 4).

A Philippine Air Force C-130 Hercules plane was carrying 96 military personnel from Colonel Jesus Villamor Air Base when it reportedly missed the runway at Lumbia airport during landing at Patikul, Sulu province on July 4.

The crash killed 47 soldiers while almost 50 were injured and airlifted to hospitals in the Mindanao region.

Three civilians who were on the ground also died.

Those onboard were privates of the Philippine Army who were supposed to be deployed in Sulu on a counterterrorism mission.

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief General Cirilito Sobejana said: "We remain to be hopeful that we could find more survivors.

"Our search and rescue is still ongoing with 17 personnel unaccounted.

These individuals were supposed to report to their battalions today.

They were supposed to join us in our fight against terrorism.

"This is a sad day but we have to remain hopeful.

We enjoin the nation to pray for those who are injured and those who have perished in this tragedy." The plane that crashed first flew in 1988, one of the two aircraft provided by the US government to the country through the Defense Security Cooperation Agency that year.