At least four people were killed when a U.S. military-contracted plane crashed in a rice field in the southern Philippines on Thursday, according to officials from the U.S. Embassy and the Philippines, reports AP.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines confirmed the crash of a light aircraft in Maguindanao del Sur province but did not immediately provide further details.

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The plane, which was contracted by the U.S. military, crashed in the southern province, as confirmed by U.S. Embassy spokesperson Kanishka Gangopadhyay. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is expected to release a more detailed statement regarding the incident.

The bodies of four individuals, believed to be foreign nationals, were recovered from the wreckage in Ampatuan town, according to Ameer Jehad Tim Ambolodto, a safety officer from Maguindanao del Sur.

Windy Beaty, a provincial disaster-mitigation officer, reported to the AP that residents had seen smoke coming from the plane and heard an explosion before it crashed less than a kilometre (about half a mile) from a cluster of farmhouses.

No injuries were reported on or near the crash site, which was sealed off by military personnel, Beaty said.

Local officials confirmed that a water buffalo on the ground was also killed in the crash.

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U.S. forces have been stationed at a Philippine military camp in the south for decades, providing advice and training to Filipino forces fighting Muslim militants. The region is home to the country’s Muslim minority in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation.