‘Tawi-Tawi locals can’t recall any plane crash when MH370 disappeared’
MANILA, Philippines — Contrary to reports by Malaysian media outfits, the Philippine military has not yet received any report of the alleged wreckage of the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 in Tawi-tawi.
The Philippine Navy also deployed a patrol gunboat to the vicinity of Ubian Island to verify the claims as locals there told authorities that they were not aware of any plane crashing in the area.
“We asked the locals and the fishermen living on the island, they have no knowledge of the supposed wreckage,” said Capt. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, commander of the Philippine Navy Task Force 61.
Authorities deployed a patrol gunboat to the area on Sunday, after the Malaysian media reported that a suspected wreckage of the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 was found in Tawi-tawi.
The wreckage reportedly bore the Malaysian flag and even had human remains inside the wreckage. However, the man who made the discovery reported the find to the Sandakan police in Sabah.
The Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared in March 2014, with 239 passengers and crew on board.
A massive search was conducted over the southern Indian Ocean, with French authorities recovering a piece of the plane’s wing on the shore of Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean.
Bacordo said their personnel verified the incident with locals on the island, who said they had no knowledge of the supposed wreckage or if a plane crashed in the area.
“They have been living there for the longest time and they have no knowledge of it. We are surprised where this report came from,” the official said.
The Philippine Navy have yet to check the entire island, although initial interviews with residents there seem to be disputing the reports of Malaysian media.
“If we are to check, it has to be a deliberate effort since that is a big island, around three miles long, but our initial checks with the populace is turning out to be negative,” Bacordo added. SFM
