12-day operation to find, retrieve Mayon crash victims ends

SOMBER SCENE A team tasked to retrieve the remains of the four victims of the February 18, 2023, plane crash from the slopes of Mayon Volcano arrives at the command post in Barangay Anoling in Camalig, Albay, on Wednesday night (March 1) carrying the first body (in stretcher). The retrieval was completed on Thursday night (March 2). —MARK ALVIC ESPLANA

LEGAZPI CITY — All four fatalities in a plane crash on Mt. Mayon last month were finally retrieved from the slopes and dropped off at the base of the volcano after responders found a shorter trail following almost two weeks of operation.

The first body was brought down at 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1, near the command post at Barangay Anoling in Camalig, Albay, after almost five hours of continuous relay by responders, composed of mountaineers, government personnel, residents and other volunteers.

READ: 1 of 4 remains retrieved from Mayon crash site

Camalig Mayor Carlos Irwin Baldo Jr., in a Facebook post, said the second body was dropped off at 1:07 a.m. on Thursday and the third at 3:13 a.m.

At 11:15 a.m., the teams arrived at the location of the fourth body and started the trek down. The last body arrived at the command post at 6:43 p.m on Thursday after a two-hour trek by responders from the Forest Ranger station.

The Cessna plane carrying the pilot, Capt. Rufino James Crisostomo Jr.; mechanic Joel Martin; and Australian passengers Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santhanam went missing on February 18.

READ: 3 of 4 bodies of Cessna plane crash victims dropped off Mayon base

Best effort

The crash site was 350 meters from the summit crater of the volcano.

“They really tried their best to hasten the operations; they put up more ropes to hold them, especially in the dangerous terrain,” Baldo said in a phone interview on Thursday.

He said good weather conditions on Wednesday also helped the team carry out the retrieval unhampered. About 10 people helped to relay each body, and another group waited in the next area along the trail, he said.

Tim Lawrence Florece, municipal information officer, said the responders who trekked early Tuesday did not stop until the third body was at the base of the volcano past 3 a.m.

Florece said the retrieval team followed the trail suggested by five residents who first found the crash site.

READ: No survivors in Cessna plane crash on Mayon

The trail was shorter and helped speed up the movement of the ground operation.

“The initial group of responders possibly did not know the trail where the ‘Magnificent 5’ used to hike,” Florece added, referring to the five residents who discovered the wreckage.

He said the relatives of the pilot and crew had already reached out on Tuesday and thanked the responders for their efforts in retrieving the remains of their loved ones.

Frances Ariola, head of corporate communications at Energy Development Corp. (EDC), said the families were requesting privacy and would not grant media interviews.

Crisostomo and Martin were employees of EDC, while the Australian passengers were technical consultants.

—MA. APRIL MIER-MANJARES

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