One US military service member and three defence contractors were killed when their aircraft crashed in the southern Philippines, the US military said.
In a statement, the Indo-Pacific Command (Indopacom) said the aircraft, which was contracted by the US military, had been carrying out intelligence and surveillance support at the request of the Philippines.
“We can confirm no survivors of the crash,” Indopacom, which oversees US forces in the region, said in the statement.
The aircraft, a Beechcraft King Air 300, had departed from Cebu as part of a routine mission in support of joint security cooperation activities with US and was en route to Cotabato City for an aerial survey when it crashed on Thursday in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao del Sur, the Philippines’ Civil Aviation Authority said in a separate statement. — Reuters
