(File photo of the wreckage of Cessna plane that went missing after taking off at Bicol International Airport last Sunday (Photo from ALBAY REP. JOEY SALCEDA FACEBOOK PAGE)
MANILA, Philippines — Albay Governor Edcel Grex Lagman on Tuesday ordered an all-out search and rescue operation to locate the four people onboard a Cessna plane that went missing over the weekend.
Lagman ordered the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (Apsemo) to mobilize composite air and ground assets, the local government said in a statement.
The aircraft’s wreckage was spotted on Mayon Volcano’s slopes in Camalig town on Sunday.
According to Apsemo head Cedric Daep, the crash site was located 6,500 feet above sea level, or approximately 350 meters from the crater of Mayon Volcano.
Citing Daep, the local government said “they are not discounting the possibility that the four passengers could still be alive.”
The ground team will also wait for further instructions after the aerial survey to plan and determine the next action, according to Daep. (Meralyn Melitante, Inquirer.net trainee)