Crash site of missing Cessna found in Albay (Photo from Camalig Mayor Caloy Baldo Facebook page)
MANILA, Philippines — The wreckage of the missing Cessna plane reported in Albay has finally been found 32 hours after its disappearance.
According to Camalig Mayor Caloy Baldo in a statement, the aircraft crashed on the upper part of Barangay Quirangay, along the Anoling gully, two kilometers from an Incident Command Post of the Forest Rangers.
However, Pilot Capt. Rufino James Crisostomo Jr., crew Joel Martin, and the plane’s Australian passengers, Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santanan have yet to be found.
The plane, Cessna 340A, left the Bicol International Airport (BIA) at 6:43 a.m. on Saturday — bound for Manila — before disappearing.
“Authorities are presently investigating the crash site to map out factors that led to the recent incident in town,” said Baldo.
“Search and rescue operations are still in effect unless dead bodies are found, then it will be declared as search and retrieval operations,” he added.
This is the second Cessna plane to go missing this year, with the first disappearing in Isabela in January.