Death toll in C-130 crash rises to 50

Accident deemed one of the worst military air disasters in PH; search for black box on

- MARTIN A. SADONGDONG

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) started searching for black box of the ill-fated Philippine Air Force (PAF) C-130 cargo plane after concluding the retrieval operation at the crash site in Patikul, Sulu.

The July 4, 2021 crash left 50 dead and 53 others injured, making it one of the worst aviation accidents in the history of the military.

“This is one of the worst 7 tragic incidents that happened in our armed forces,” said AFP spokesman Major General Edgard Arevalo.

“This ranks as the worst crash of a Philippine military aircraft with 50 dead so far as compared to the 40 dead in a 1971 crash of a PAF C-47,” Jose Antonio Custodio, a military historian and analyst, told Agence France-Presse.

The Department of National Defense (DND) announced Monday, July 5, that all 96 soldiers aboard the C-130 cargo plane with tail number 5125 were all accounted for as the retrieval operation was completed around 11 p.m. Sunday.

The bodies of 47 military personnel who perished in the accident were found while 49 others were hospitalized due to various injuries.

Three civilians also died after they were crushed by the wreckage of the plane while four residents were injured in the accident.

Search for black box ongoing

“All passengers, pilots, and crew were retrieved. Meanwhile, the search for the black box of the crashed C130 is still ongoing,” the DND said in a statement.