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| Rescue workers arrive as smoke billows from the wreckage of a Philippine Airforce C-130 transport plane after it crashed near the airport in Jolo town, Sulu province, near the southern island of Mindanao. (Photo from Handout / Joint Task Force-Sulu / AFP) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] MANILA — The military announced Friday that it has identified four more bodies of its personnel who died in the Air Force C-130 plane crash in Patikul, Sulu earlier this month, PhilStar reported. The Armed Forces of the Philippines said it has identified the remains of Sgt. Jelson Sadjail, Cpl. Alhamin Salahuddin and PFCs Alzid Hawrani and Nazer Albaracin, all from the Philippine Army.
It said that it has reached out to the four soldiers’ loved ones through the Western Mindanao Command while their remains are being prepared for transport and proper burial. A total of 33 bodies have been identified, the AFP said, while 17 more are still undergoing identification. The C-130 plane crash resulted in the deaths of 54 people, including three civilians, while 46 others were injured. The black box containing a captive voice recorder and flight data recorder that will help determine what happened during the fatal crash has been sent to the United States for analysis.
The Philippine Air Force said the analysis would take about a month. The plane, with tail number 5125, was acquired from the United States and delivered to the Philippines in January.
