Georgia, May 3: The  United States(US) Military cargo plane crashed near Georgia on Wednesday morning at 11:30 am and claimed nine people lives, who were onboard. An inquiry into the incident has been initiated. According to news reports, the C-130 aircraft crashed at the intersection point at highway 21 and Crossgate road close to Savannah/Hilton head international airport, in an area of woods and light industry just northeast of the airport grounds on a clear morning.

This is the second such incident that has happened in less than a years time period. Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló of Puerto Rico said on Twitter that the episode was an “unfortunate accident,” an assessment that the military echoed in its initial statement. A formal investigation into the cause of the crash will take months. The reports also quoted Gena Bilbo, a spokeswoman for the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office who cleared that there are no survivors.

The military said that the plane was from the 156th Airlift Wing, a unit of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard and that it was bound for Arizona when it crashed. “The aeroplane just took off and quickly fell,” said Brig. Gen. Isabelo Rivera, the adjutant general of Puerto Rico, who said nine people were listed on the flight’s manifest.

The officials did not publicly name any of the people who were confirmed or believed to be dead, except to say that they were all Puerto Ricans. General Rivera said that the National Guard had not yet made official notifications to family members, but the relatives had been learning about the crash on their own.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 03, 2018 11:59 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).