All four people onboard were killed after a small plane contracted by the US Defence Department crashed in the southern Philippines on Thursday.
The deceased included one US service member, said the US Indo-Pacific Command.
“The aircraft was providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support at the request of our Philippine allies,” the Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement.
“The incident occurred during a routine mission in support of US-Philippine security cooperation activities.”
The US military said one service member and three defence contractors were killed in the incident. They were not immediately identified pending notification of their families.
“We can confirm no survivors of the crash,” the statement said.
What US Indo-Pacific Command said:
— There were four personnel on board, including one US military service member and three defense contractors.
— The names of the crew are being withheld pending next of kin notification.
— The cause of the crash is currently under investigation, and we have no further details to release at this time.
— Additional updates will be provided as they become available.
The Philippine military said in a statement it could not release information about the crash as the matter was classified, and an investigation was ongoing.
Officers had not yet determined the cause of the fixed-wing aircraft’s crash on a farm near the municipality of Ampatuan, reported AFP quoting regional police spokesman Jopy Ventura.
Police and soldiers were deployed to the site to prevent potential tampering with evidence, the spokesman said.
Municipal rescuer Rhea Martin told AFP her team had found four dead bodies at the crash site.
“The bodies were found near the plane,” she told AFP, adding: “The plane was cut in half.”
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