Philippine military plane crash kills 9
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Nine people were confirmed dead and another was injured after a Philippine Air Force plane crashed in a residential area in Cotabato City in southern Philippines before noon Thursday.
Of the nine fatalities, eight were passengers of a Nomad plane that crashed into three homes in Cotabato City.
The other fatality, Inday Mondrano, who was in her sixties, died after a wall of one of the houses collapsed, a local TV network quoted Philippine National Police (PNP) Region 12 Senior Superintendent Felicisimo Khu as saying.
Gumacon, who is in her forties, was rushed to the Cotabato City hospital after she was slightly injured, the PNP official added.
Residents of the other two damaged houses were unharmed.
The crash took place at 11:37 in the morning, Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Gerry Zamudio said. He refused to identify the passengers until their families have been notified.
Cotabato city police chief Willie Dangane said Maj. Gen. Mario Butch Lacson, commander of the Air Force's 3rd Air Division, was among the passengers of the plane.
He identified the other passengers as Maj. Tacuboy; Capt. Ordoneo; 1st Lt. Valdez, the female pilot; 1st Lt. Lepae; Sgt. Lemara; Sgt. Mejia; and Sgt. Gosum.
It is reported that the aircraft came from Davao and had made a stopover in Cotabato City before proceeding to Zamboanga City.
Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines deputy director Ed Kapunan said the pilot informed the authorities of an engine trouble shortly after taking off.
"About eight kilometers away after it took off, the pilot declared an emergency, then it crashed," Kapunan told radio dzBB.
Kapunan said the pilot requested to go back to Cotabato City. But when the aviation authorities gave her the landing clearance, the pilot replied that communication was fading and subsequently lost contact.
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