Additional Coverage:
Tragedy struck the southern Philippines on Thursday when a U.S. military contract plane crashed in a rice field. One service member and three contractors were killed.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command stated the plane was on a routine intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance mission requested by the Philippines.
The cause of the crash in Maguindanao del Sur province is under investigation. Philippine aviation authorities and a local safety officer confirmed the incident. The Indo-Pacific Command confirmed the recovery of all four bodies, but their identities are being withheld pending notification of their families.
A provincial disaster official, Windy Beaty, was alerted to the crash after locals reported smoke and a loud explosion. No injuries on the ground were reported, though a water buffalo was killed in the crash.
U.S. military personnel have been stationed at a Philippine military camp for years, providing training and support to Filipino troops fighting insurgents.
This crash follows other recent aviation accidents. One involved a collision between a commercial jet and a helicopter, killing all 64 passengers on the plane and three U.S. troops on the helicopter.
Another recent tragedy involved an air ambulance explosion over a Philadelphia neighborhood. Seven people were killed, including an 11-year-old girl, her mother, two pilots, a doctor, and a paramedic. Falling debris also caused one additional fatality on the ground.
Six of the victims in the Philadelphia crash were Mexican citizens. The young girl and her mother were returning to Mexico after receiving medical treatment.
Twenty-four people were injured in the incident. Investigations into the cause of the explosion are ongoing.