ANKARA, Turkey -- A U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules transport plane burst into flames and crashed in east-central Turkey today, killing all 27 men on board, U.S. officials said.
'Rescue operations proved worthless as no one has been recovered alive,' a U.S. Embassy spokesman said about seven hours after the crash.
A Turkish military spokesman said an official team that went to the crash site found no survivors.
The U.S. Embassy spokesman said earlier that 28 American servicemen - 18 passengers and 10 crewmen -- were on the plane and died in the crash. But Air Force officials later said 27 men were aboard the aircraft.
The Pentagon said the plane was assigned to the 463rd Tactical Air Force Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Abilene, Texas.
The embassy said the four-engine cargo plane crashed east of Sivas, 200 miles east of Ankara, and planes and helicopters from both the U.S. and Turkish air forces were dispatched to look for the wreckage.
The Turkish news agency UBA said villagers in the area of the town of Kizildag saw the plane burst into flames before crashing. It said the witnesses saw a man jump out of the plane but his parachute failed to open and the person plummeted to the ground 'in pieces,' UBA said.
Witnesses reported seeing at least 20 bodies on the ground and others dismembered, UBA said.
The embassy said the plane carried a crew of 10 and 18 passengers on what was described as a routine supply mission.
'ApparentlyXBXXhPJ'Bf iildag, east of Sivas,' the embassy said.
Incirlik is a NATO base.
The plane crashed at 2:30 p.m. (6:30 a.m. EST).
American military flights over Turkey are normal. There are about 30 military installations jointly operated by the United States and Turkey under NATO.
