3 cops hurt as PNP chopper crashes in Kalinga

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CAUAYAN CITY, Philippines — Three policemen, including the operations chief of the Cordillera police, were hurt after their helicopter crashed in a mountain in Kalinga on Wednesday, reports from the Isabela and Cordillera police offices said.

The policemen were flying to Kalinga to conduct a marijuana eradication drive, when their RJ 44 Raven helicopter (tail number RP 2045) started to develop engine problems.

They were Senior Superintendent Oliver Enmodias, chief of regional operations and plans of the Cordillera police; Police Officer 3 Jude Edwin Duque, a member of the Police Air Unit; and the pilot, Chief Inspector Dexter Vitug.

Vitug was forced to crash-land at Mt. Bitulayungan in Butbut village in Tinglayan town at 11:15 a.m., damaging the aircraft’s rotor and body frame, said Superintendent Narciso Paragas, Isabela police spokesperson.

All three policemen were treated for minor injuries at a hospital in Tabuk City.

The helicopter was turned over to the Cordillera police in May and was used to transport election materials and personnel to remote areas of Abra during the May 13 elections.