▲ Rescue team searching for the crash site of the Philippine military plane
A Philippine military plane crashed on the island of Holo in the southern Philippines, killing 17 of the 92 people on board and 40 rescued.
Philippine military authorities announced on the 4th that at 11:30 a.m., a C-130 transport plane crashed in the mountainous area of Patikul while attempting to land on the island alone.
Defense Minister Delphine Lorenzana said the plane was carrying 92 people, including three pilots and five crew members.
He said 17 bodies were found in the wreckage of a burning transport plane and that 40 people have been rescued so far.
The rescued soldiers have been taken to a nearby military hospital for treatment.
"Something very unfortunate has happened," said Sirilito Sovejana, chief of the Philippine military's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
It was raining in the area where the plane crashed and there were no signs of an attack, a military spokeswoman said.
It was confirmed that the passengers on the military plane had recently completed basic military training and boarded the plane from Cagayan de Oro, southern Mindanao, to be deployed in areas where Islamic rebels are active.
In the mountainous areas of Holo Island, Filipino government forces and Islamic rebel Abu Sayyaf have been fighting.
The Philippines and the United States have identified Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist group carrying out bombing and ransom abductions, and have been working to eliminate them.
(Photo = AP, Yonhap News)