US service member, three contractors killed in Philippines aircraft crash

WASHINGTON/MANILA (Reuters) -One U.S. military service member and three defense contractors were killed on Thursday when their aircraft crashed in the southern Philippines, the U.S. military said.

In a statement, the Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) said the aircraft, which was contracted by the U.S. military, had been carrying out intelligence and surveillance support at the request of the Philippines.

"We can confirm no survivors of the crash," INDOPACOM, which oversees U.S. forces in the region, said in the statement.

The aircraft, a Beechcraft King Air 300, had departed from Cebu in the central Philippines and was en route to Cotabato City for an aerial survey when it crashed in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao del Sur, the Philippines' Civil Aviation Authority said in a separate statement on Friday.

INDOPACOM said the flight was part of a routine mission in support of security cooperation activities between the Philippines and United States. It said the cause of the crash was under investigation.

The U.S. and the Philippines are defence treaty allies.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart in Washington and Karen Lema in Manila; Editing by John Mair)

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