The wreckage of a Hercules C-130 aircraft after it crashed while trying to land in Guelmim, is seen in this still image taken from a July 26, 2011 video by Morocco TV. At least 78 people were killed on Tuesday when the Moroccan military transport plane crashed into a mountain in the south of the country during bad weather, the military said in a statement carried by the state news agency. [Photo/Agencies]

RABAT - A military plane crashed Tuesday in a mountainous area in south of Morocco, killing 78 people and wounding three others, the official news agency MAP said.

The agency said the Royal Armed Forces C-130 jet, carrying military personnel, crashed into a mountain as it prepared to land at Guelmim's military air base. Guelmim is located about 830 kilometers southwest of the capital Rabat.

The plane crashed after taking off from Dakhla and was heading for the northern city of Kinitra.

"The crash caused by bad weather conditions has killed 78 people and seriously injured the other three," the Royal Armed Forces said in a statement carried by MAP.

A total of 81 people were on board the plane, including nine crew members, 60 soldiers and 12 civilians. The rescue team has found 42 bodies and sent the three survivors to the nearby military hospital, the military said.

It is Morocco's worst plane crash since 1973, when 105 passengers were killed after a Royal Air Maroc aircraft crashed near Rabat.

The most recent plane crash in the country happened in 1994 when 44 passengers and crew members were killed in a crash near the southwestern city of Agadir.