Survivor recalls how he was saved from death in C-130 crash in Sulu

A soldier who survived the crash last Sunday of a C-130 military plane in Sulu recalled on Wednesday the incident which claimed the lives of 50 servicemen and three civilians.

Interviewed on GMA News’ Unang Balita, Private First Class Nathaniel Bongcayao said he jumped out of the aircraft after an explosion broke its rear part.

“Kasama po ako sa tumalon. Tumalon ako doon sa puwetan ng eroplano kasi sumabog na ‘yung puwetan ng eroplano. So nakakita kami ng butas. Doon na kami tumalon,” he said.

(I was among those who jumped. I jumped from the rear part of the plane because the rear part of the plane exploded. We saw a hole, and we jumped from there.)

Although he wanted to help his colleagues, Bongcayao said he jumped from the aircraft because it was already burning.

According to Bongcayao, the aircraft attempted to land on the runway but they felt the plane bounce upon strong impact. 

“Na-short landing ‘yung sinasakyan namin,” he said.

(Our plane had a short field landing.)

At this point, Bongcayao said they started to feel fear that something would happen to the aircraft.

He recalled that the pilot tried to fly the aircraft again because they were about to hit a wall but it was not successful. The aircraft crashed onto trees.

The front part of the C-130 exploded first. According to him, most of their colleagues who died in the crash were seated in the front part of the aircraft.

“Doon na kami nag-panic (That’s when we panicked),” he said.

When the rear part of the plane also exploded, he and his remaining colleagues jumped from around half the height of the coconut trees.

On the ground, Bongcayao saw his fellow soldiers knocked down and burned. He suffered injuries on his face and arms.

The death toll due to the crash went up to 53 on Tuesday, of whom 50 were soldiers and three were civilians. Meanwhile, 46 servicemen and four civilians were injured. 

The C-130 came from Cagayan de Oro and was going to Sulu to bring troops when it crashed at 11:30 a.m. in Barangay Bangkal in Patikul, Sulu.

Investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the mishap. —Joviland Rita/KG, GMA News