A US military-contracted plane crashed in a rice field in the southern Philippines, killing all four people onboard, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said. The deceased include one U.S. service member and three defence contractors.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines has also confirmed the crash of a light plane in Maguindanao del Sur province on Thursday, but did not immediately provide other details. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
US soldier among 4 killed in Philippines plane crash
American army-contracted plane smashes into rice field in south of country, 3 contractors also among dead pic.twitter.com/PnHRk5QlbI
— RT (@RT_com) February 6, 2025
The aircraft was conducting a routine mission “providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support at the request of our Philippine allies,” the Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement about the crash on Mindanao island.
“The incident occurred during a routine mission in support of US-Philippine security cooperation activities,”it added.
The bodies of all the four people on board the plane were retrieved from the wreckage in Ampatuan town, Ameer Jehad Tim Ambolodto, a safety officer of Maguindanao del Sur. Indo-Pacific Command said. The names of the crew are being withheld due to pending family notifications, The Associated Press reported.
Additionally, police and soldiers have been deployed at the site to prevent potential tampering with evidence, Regional police spokesman Jopy Ventura told AFP.
Windy Beaty, a provincial disaster-mitigation officer, told AP that she had received reports saying that residents of the area saw smoke coming from the plane. She was also told that locals heard an explosion before the aircraft crashed less than a kilometer away from a cluster of farmhouses.
Beaty said that nobody was injured on or near the crash site, which was later cordoned off by troops. Local officials said that a water buffalo on the ground was killed during the plane crash.
The US plane and officials were in Philippines as forces from the United States have been deployed in a military camp in the country’s south region to help in providing advise and training to Filipino forces battling militants linked to the Islamic State group which remains active on Mindanao, AFP reported.
