At Least 10 Reported Killed, Including Five Americans, In C-130 Crash
Multiple outlets are reporting as many as 12 fatalities, including five American service members, in a C-130 crash during liftoff at Jalalabad Airport in Afghanistan.
Five of the dead were U.S. service members that were the crew of the aircraft, five were civilian contractors who were passengers, and two were local Afghan civilians who were killed on the ground, the military official said.
The civilian contractors were working with “Resolute Support,” the NATO-led mission to train and advise Afghan security forces. It follows the military mission in Afghanistan after combat operations ended at the end of 2014.
An anonymous U.S. defense official spoke with the Associated Press and confirmed 12 deaths in the crash.
The transport plane went down shortly after midnight local time. Reports indicate no hostile activity was observed or reported in the area of the airport at the time of the crash, and no cause has otherwise been determined.