9 aboard US military plane destroyedin fiery crash

WASHINGTON: An aging US military cargo plane carrying nine troops was destroyed in a fiery crash Wednesday as it made its final scheduled flight before being mothballed, officials said. The C-130 “Hercules” cargo plane from the Puerto Rico Air National Guard crashed around 11:30 am (1530 GMT) near the Savannah airport. Footage of the crash showed it falling from the sky then exploding in a fireball. Officials at first said five crewmembers were killed, but it later emerged that other people were also on board. “We’ve confirmed nine people, consisting of five crewmembers and four additional passengers” were on board, Puerto Rico National Guard spokesman Major Paul Dahlen said.