Manila, Jan 28 (DPA) Nine people, including a Philippine Air Force general, were killed Thursday when a Nomad plane crashed in a residential area in a southern city, officials said.
Eight of the fatalities were passengers on the air force plane, which plunged into three houses in Cotabato City, 960 km south of Manila, triggering a fire.
A 60-year-old woman on the ground was killed when a wall of one of the houses collapsed, police said. Two people on the ground were also injured.
Lieutenant General Raymundo Ferrer, a regional military commander, said the Nomad plane had just taken off from the Cotabato City airport when it crashed for unknown reasons.
Ferrer said all eight people aboard the plane were killed in the crash, including Lieutenant General Butch Lacson.
“Upon impact, the plane burst into flames,” he said. “Three houses were hit in the crash, which triggered a blaze.”
Cotabato city mayor Muslimin Sema said one resident and a firefighter were injured in the accident.
“The plane was flying in a zigzag before it crashed,” Sema said, citing witnesses.
Lieutenant Colonel Gerardo Zamudio, air force spokesman, said the cause of the crash was still being determined and a team has been dispatched to investigate.
“The last communication from the aircraft was two minutes after the takeoff,” he said. “There was no indication that there was a problem with the plane.”
