By Froilan Gallardo, Special Correspondent .
AN Air Force helicopter on its way to airlift wounded troops crash into a hilly portion of Basilan, killing all four crew members aboard, officials said.
Basilan police director Lt. Col. Rodrigo Maramo , in a report, said the Air Force Sikorsky took off from Zamboanga City and crashed midway in the vicinity of the rubber plantation of Mayor Nasser Abubakar in Upper Manggas, Lantawan town at about 1pm Wednesday.
Maramo said a police rescue team reached the site and found all four crewmembers dead.
He said the helicopter was on the way to nearby Sulu province to airlift wounded soldiers.
Maramo said upon reaching the hills of Upper Manggas, the helicopter “fell down and exploded due to bad weather.”
Tropical storm “Leon,” which has intensified Wednesday, brought heavy rains and bad weather across Mindanao and the rest of the country.
The ill-fated aircraft had a tail number 202, and belonged to PAF’s 505th Search and Rescue Group.
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