C-130 crash in Mississippi leaves at least 16 dead
A military refueling aircraft crashed Monday afternoon in a soybean field in Leflore County, killing at least 16 and leaving a debris field five miles in radius, officials said.
Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Director Lee Smithson said the plane crashed on the Sunflower-Leflore county line.
Leflore County EMA Director Frank Randle confirmed that 16 are dead in the crash.
“Most of them are gonna be Marines,” he said. He could not confirm whether there were any civilians on the plane.
The U.S. Marine Corps Twitter account posted that “A USMC KC-130 mishap occurred the evening of July 10. Further information will be released as available.”
Capt. Sarah Burns said in a statement that a Marine C-130 “experienced a mishap” Monday evening, echoing almost the exact language of the tweet.
A KC-130 aircraft is an extended-range tanker version of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules that has been modified for aerial refueling.The C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop aircraft used primarily for military transportation. It’s known as a workhorse used in refueling, humanitarian missions, firefighting, search and rescue, and combat missions, according to the Lockheed Martin website.
