The Latest: Governor warns against taking plane crash debris

ITTA BENA, Miss. (AP) — The Latest on the deadly military plane crash in Mississippi (all times local):

5:30 p.m.

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is warning people to not remove debris from the area where a Marine Corps plane crashed.

Bryant, in statements Tuesday on Twitter, said law enforcement authorities have received reports that items are being taken from the crash site. Debris from the KC-130 that crashed Monday is scattered for miles.

Sheriff's deputies and state troopers have been trying to control access to sites, but the broad area and number of roads makes that difficult.

Bryant asks people to stay away and turn debris over to authorities. He warns that anyone taking something could be prosecuted.

The refueling and cargo plane went down in a soybean field, killing 15 Marines and a Navy corpsman. The Marines said Tuesday that the air tanker was based at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, and headed to California.

2:25 p.m.

Seven of the U.S. troops killed in the Mississippi plane crash were special operations forces based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Six were Marines and one was a sailor.

The Marine Corps refueling and cargo plane went down in a soybean field on Monday and killed 16 military members in all. The Marines said Tuesday that the air tanker was based at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, and headed to California.

One of the plane's stops was in North Carolina, presumably to pick up the seven commandos. The plane was scheduled to drop them and their equipment off for training at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, and fly on to a naval air field at El Centro, California. The seven commandos were from the Camp Lejeune-based 2nd Marine Raider Battalion.

Officials have not released the names of those killed. The crash is under investigation.

10:40 a.m.

A Marine spokesman says a Navy corpsman and 15 Marines were killed in when a military plane crashed in rural Mississippi as it was headed from North Carolina to California.

Marine Corps Maj. Andrew Aranda says Tuesday that the flight of the KC-130T originated Monday from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina.

The plane was taking people and equipment to Naval Air Field El Centro, California, when it crashed Monday afternoon in a soybean field near Itta Bena, Mississippi.

Aranda says many of the Marines were from a unit based in New York with active duty and reserve members.

The Marine Corps says personal weapons and small-arms ammunition were aboard.

8:45 a.m.

Marine Corps officials say the plane that crashed in Mississippi's Delta region belonged to a reserve unit.

Though the KC-130 refueling tanker took off from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina, Capt. John Roberts said Tuesday that the plane was under the command of the 4th Marine Air Wing, which is part of the Marine Forces Reserve, headquartered in New Orleans.

Lt. Col. Tanya Murnock says the names of the 16 people killed in the crash are being withheld while loved ones are notified.

The KC-130 spiraled into a soybean field about 4 p.m. Monday, spreading debris for miles and resulting in fiery wreckage that burned for hours.

7:55 a.m.

The U.S. military plane that crashed in a soybean field in rural Mississippi killing at least 16 people on board originated from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina. The station is about 115 miles (185 kilometers) southeast of Raleigh and about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from the Atlantic Ocean.

The station was authorized by Congress just before the start of World War II and trained units and individual Marines for the Pacific theater of the war.

Cherry Point also provided units in the Vietnam War, the Korean War, as well as the Gulf War and operations in Southwest Asia in Afghanistan and Iraq.

It supports the 2nd Marine Aviation Wing, providing, among other services, KC-130 aircraft used for in-flight refueling.

The station covers 45 square miles (115 square kilometers) and has nearly 14,000 Marines, sailors and civilian employees.

7:30 a.m.

President Donald Trump is offering condolences to the families of those who died in a tragic military plane crash in Mississippi.

A U.S. military plane used for refueling crashed into a soybean field in rural Mississippi on Monday, killing at least 16 people aboard. The fiery wreckage spread debris for miles.

Trump tweeted early Tuesday, "Marine Plane crash in Mississippi is heartbreaking. Melania and I send our deepest condolences to all!"

The KC-130 plane was from the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina.

Officials did not release information on what caused the crash.

7:30 a.m.

No more smoke is rising the day after the fiery crash of a U.S. military plane in a field in rural Mississippi, killing at least 16 people.

State patrol units blocked all farm roads on U.S. Highway 82 on Tuesday morning about two miles away from the wreckage to keep anyone who isn't law enforcement or a response unit out of the area. Some fog has accumulated in the field near the crash site.

Workers from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks could be seen sitting on ATV four wheelers at a command center across from Mississippi Valley State University.

The Marine KC-130 crashed Monday afternoon, leaving a fiery wreckage and spreading debris for miles.

6:40 a.m.

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis says the KC-130 that crashed in Mississippi and killed 16 people was from the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina.

Tillis, who represents North Carolina, said in a statement Tuesday morning that he and his wife are extending their deepest condolences to the families of the Marines who were killed, as well as to the Cherry Point station and the community of Havelock.

Tillis said the crash is a reminder of the dangers that military personnel face even on training missions.

The North Carolina senator is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel.

The refueling aircraft crashed Monday afternoon in a soybean field in rural Mississippi, killing at least 16 people aboard.

No other details were immediately available on the crew members and where they lived.

3 a.m.

Officials say a U.S. military plane used for refueling crashed into a field in rural Mississippi, killing at least 16 people aboard and spreading debris for miles and creating fiery wreckage.

Leflore (le-FLOR') County Emergency Management Agency Director Frank Randle told reporters at a late Monday briefing that 16 bodies had been recovered after the KC-130 spiraled into the ground about 85 miles (135 kilometers) north of Jackson in the Mississippi Delta.

Marine Corps spokeswoman Capt. Sarah Burns said in a statement that a KC-130 "experienced a mishap" Monday evening but provided no details. The KC-130 is used as a refueling tanker.