A small plane contracted by the US Defence Department crashed in the southern Philippines yesterday, killing all four people on board. The US Indo-Pacific Command said the crash occurred in Maguindanao del Sur in the southern Philippines. Images from the crash site, confirmed by a US Defence official, show the wreckage of a Beechcraft King Air 350 in a rice field. The official said the service member killed in the crash was a US Marine. It is unclear if the three Defence contractors were also US citizens.

The crash occurred during a routine mission, and the cause of the crash is under investigation.