|
Rescuers and villagers on Tuesday found a body and
debris believed to be from a C-130 military cargo plane that crashed
in waters off southern Philippines, officials said.
Earlier in the day, the
Philippine Air Force did not rule out the possibility that one of
its aircraft had been attacked or sabotaged by Muslim rebels,
causing it to apparently crash late Monday after taking off from an
airport in Davao City in Mindanao.
The C-130 cargo plane that
apparently went down was carrying two pilots and seven crew when it
was reported to have gone missing.
Maj. Gerardo Zamudio, the Air
Force spokesman, cited the bombing of the Davao City International
Airport in 2003 allegedly by the insurgents from the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF), an Islamic separatist group that operates
in large parts of Mindanao.
The apparently missing aircraft
had taken off from the international airport.
“The Air Force has been in the
limelight, because of our air strikes against lawless MILF
groups,” Zamudio said.
The military earlier said at
least 100 soldiers and rebels have been killed in fighting between
the two sides since the government scrapped last week but for
“review” later a controversial land deal with the Muslim
guerrillas.
Trouble after takeoff
The cargo plane lost contact with
air traffic control two minutes after taking off from Davao
international airport.
“We have received reports from
our tactical operations group in Davao City that they have found
debris near one village,” said the Air Force spokesman, Maj.
Gerardo Zamudio.
Officials had initially declined
to confirm the debris was from the 41-year-old Lockheed Martin
aircraft but investigators on the ground said evidence gathered so
far indicated it was the missing aircraft.
The Air Force chief, Lt. Gen.
Cadungog, said debris from the plane, including a wheel and the
identity card of a person on board, had been recovered in a coastal
village.
One body has also been retrieved,
said Maj. Armand Rico, a spokesman for the military’s regional
command in the South.
Personal effects, including
combat boots, identification cards, ripped clothing, as well as
wallets and Air Force documents, were found in coastal villages near
the crash site, residents and officials said.
Sonar equipment had pinpointed
the likely wreckage of the plane, lying in more than 181 meters of
water, some 2.5 nautical miles off the coast of Davao City, said
Capt. Arnel Gonzales, the head of the force combing the area.
“This is where it possibly
crashed,” he said.
Naval divers had found body
parts, including an arm, but could not reach the suspected crash
site because it was too deep, Gonzales said.
On board the military cargo plane
were Maj. Manuel Zambrano, pilot; Capt. Adrian de Dios, co-pilot;
Technical Sgt. Constantino Enrique Lobrigas, flight engineer; and
Staff Sgt. John Areola, student flight engineer; Staff Sgt. Gary Diñoso,
crew chief; Staff Sgt. Felix Pedro Patriarca, flight mechanic; Staff
Sgts. Petronilo Fernandez and Patricio Claur Jr., load masters; and
Staff Sgt. Aldrin Illustrisimo, student load master.
President Gloria Arroyo ordered
government agencies to provide assistance to the families of the
pilots and the crew of the apparently missing aircraft.
Flight plan
The plane had been scheduled to
fly to the central city of Iloilo to pick up members of President
Arroyo’s security team, and then take them to Manila, Cadungog
said. The trip would have taken about one hour.
According to the Air Force chief,
witnesses said they had heard a loud explosion shortly after the
plane took off. The witnesses added that the incident was “very
puzzling.”
The C-130 was at about 1,524
meters when the pilots made their last call requesting clearance for
a flight path, said Cadungog, who called the pilots seasoned airmen.
Three military helicopters were
involved in the search, and the Air Force chief said he had asked US
forces to help.
There were no reports of
maintenance problems with the C-130, Cadungog added.
The Air Force has five transport
planes, but three have been groun-ded for maintenance, he said.
Zamudio said the incident could
affect the Air Force’s ability to transport troops and equipment
amid a continuing offensive against the MILF.
Al Jacinto, Jefferson Antiporda, Angelo S. Samonte And AFP
|
