8 killed as military Plane crashes into houses

A military plane crashed into a residential area in the southern Philippines on Thursday, killing a senior air force commander and seven other people aboard, officials said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties on the ground in Cotabato city, said national police spokesman Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina.
The twin-prop Nomad aircraft crashed shortly after taking off and burst into flames, setting fire to two houses that it hit, regional military commander Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer said.
Neighbours tried to help firemen put out the blaze, some dousing the fire with garden hoses.
The plane had stopped in Cotabato on its way from Davao to Zamboanga, Ferrer said.
Civil Aviation Authority deputy director Ed Kapunan told DZBB radio that the pilot radioed soon after takeoff to say the plane had an emergency and was heading back to the airport.