Philippines military plane carrying 85 people crashes, 40 rescued

Manila: A military C-130 plane, carrying at least 85 people, crashed in the southern Philippines after missing a runway on Sunday, and rescued 40 people on board, the armed forces’ chief said.

Many of the passengers had recently graduated from basic military training and were being deployed to the restive island as part of a joint task force fighting terrorism in the Muslim-majority region.

The military has a heavy presence in the southern Philippines where militant groups, including the kidnap-for-ransom outfit Abu Sayyaf, operate.

There is no reports on casualty yet.