Manila (Philippines), Feb. 7 -- A small plane contracted by the US Defence Department crashed in the southern Philippines on Thursday, killing all four people on board, including one US service member, 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 twin-engine turboprop aircraft was contracted by the Defence Department to conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance at the request of the Philippines,...