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LONDON — A British Hercules airplane was damaged while landing in southeastern Iraq and later destroyed by coalition forces because of the risk of mounting a recovery operation, the Defence Ministry said Tuesday.

Two people suffered minor injuries in the incident Monday night, the ministry said.

There was no immediate indication of hostile action, the ministry said, but it had not been ruled out.

The C-130 had just touched down at an airstrip in Maysan province when it was damaged by an explosion of unknown origin, said a ministry spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with department policy.

Another C-130 in the area quickly landed at the same strip and rescued the crew, the spokesman said.

“The site was secured and, after a thorough assessment of the damage, it was concluded that the aircraft could not be recovered without exposing our personnel to undue risk,” the spokesman said.

“There was also a potential risk that anti-Iraqi forces might obtain information on specialist equipment. The aircraft was therefore safely destroyed by multinational forces.”

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