US Marine from California identified as one of four killed in Philippines plane crash

Wreckage of airplane in a rice field in Maguindanao del Sur province, Philippines, after officials say a U.S. military-contracted plane has crashed in a rice field in the southern Philippines, killing all four people on board, on Thursday Feb. 6, 2025. (Sam Mala/UGC via AP)

CAMP PENDLETON, California: A US Marine from California was identified by military officials Sunday (Feb 9) as one of four people killed when a plane contracted by the US military crashed in a rice field in the southern Philippines.

Sgt Jacob M. Durham, 22, of Long Beach, died Thursday in the crash of an aircraft that was conducting a routine mission "providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support at the request of our Philippine allies,” officials at Camp Pendleton, California, said in a statement. Officials said the cause of the crash was under investigation.