ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur –– A chopper of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) crashed in Basilan province this afternoon, killing its four passengers, officials said.
“It’s a helicopter of the Philippine Air Force; we are still getting further details,” said Lieutenant Colonel Alaric Delos Santos, spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command.
Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman said the incident happened around 1 p.m. in Barangay Upper Manggas of Lantawan town and involved a rescue helicopter.
In a spot report, Colonel Domingo Gobway, commander of Joint Task Force Basilan, said the rescue aircraft had a tail number 202, and belonged to PAF’s 505th Search and Rescue Group.
Gobway confirmed that the crash happened in Barangay Upper Manggas of Lantawan town.
Gobway said troops of the 4th Special Forces Battalion are already in the crash site conducting retrieval of the bodies of the four passengers.