British deaths as military plane crashes near Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Jan 30 (AFP) - British troops died Sunday when the transport plane they were travelling in crashed in central Iraq, Prime Minister Tony Blair said.
"This country and the wider world will never forget them," Blair said in a televised speech, saying "people lost their lives" but not specifying how many had perished or providing any other details.
The Royal Air Force C-130 Hercules, which can carry up to 128 troops, went down northwest of Baghdad at 4:40 pm (1340 GMT), according to the coalition military press office in Baghdad.
Wreckage from the plane was reportedly scattered over a large area.
"We are not yet able to confirm the safety of the crew and any passengers. The cause of the crash is not yet known," the British military in Iraq said.
It was not clear how many crew were on board the aircraft and whether it was carrying equipment or troops -- the four-turboprop plane can carry a crew of five or six and up to 128 troops.
US military helicopters were at the site of crash.
Prior to the crash 75 British troops had lost their lives in Iraq in combat or accidents.
The crash came during a series of attacks aimed at sabotaging the first democratic elections in Iraq for 50 years. At least 37 people were killed and 96 others wounded in the attacks.
Earlier in Baghdad, a coalition officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the plane had been heading to Balad, which lies 70 kilometers (40 miles) north of Baghdad.
Balad houses one of the largest US airbases in Iraq and has two runways, according to Britain's Press Association newswire. Its 25-square-kilometre airfield is protected by a 20-kilometre security perimeter.
Wreckage from the cargo plane, from RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, was scattered far and wide, the Press Association said, quoting a US military officer.
The newswire quoted military sources in Iraq as saying the transport plane rarely travels north of Baghdad.
The sources said the aircraft was primarily used to ferry troops from the British sector headquarters in Basra, the main southern city, to the capital.
According to the Royal Air Force website, the Hercules is used primarily to carry troops, passengers and freight.
The maximum payload is 20 tonnes or 45,000 pounds which can be carried over 2,000 miles.
It said the Lockheed C-130 Hercules is the most widely used transport aircraft in the West and has been in production longer than any other aircraft in history.
The prototype flew in August 1954 and since then over 60 nations have ordered the Hercules.
Those in use by the RAF are C-130K versions -- known as Hercules C1 and C3 -- and initial deliveries (of a total of 66 ordered) were made during the mid-1960s.
The RAF site said many are destined to remain in service for some years to come, although about half of the fleet have been replaced by the updated C-130J -- Hercules C4 and C5.

01/30/2005 21:08 GMT - AFP