Personal belongings of Cessna plane crash victims retrieved from Mayon

Photo from the Philippine Army

LEGAZPI CITY — The personal belongings of the four victims of the Cessna plane crash were retrieved from the slopes of Mayon Volcano on Friday (Feb. 24) afternoon.

Camalig Mayor Carlos Irwin Baldo Jr., incident commander, said Fire Officer II Christian Michael Oxima of the Bureau of Fire Protection Special Rescue Force turned over to the town police and Scene of the Crime Operatives the recovered items, including identification cards, cash, a wallet, mobile phones, and a laptop.

Baldo said these items would be used for the forensic assessment.

Oxima was one of the responders who climbed the volcano to reach the crash site, 350 meters from the summit crater of the volcano.

On Friday morning, operations resumed retrieving the victim’s remains.

Authorities confirmed on Thursday that the pilot, Capt. Rufino James Crisostomo Jr.; his mechanic, Joel Martin; and their two Australian passengers, Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santhanam, were found dead at the crash site.

The Cessna plane went missing on Feb. 18 minutes after it took off from the Bicol International Airport in Daraga town, Albay.

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Rescuers reach Cessna crash site near Mayon crater; begin retrieval ops

JPV