Cessna retrieval team expected Sunday in Camalig
Members of the retrieval team looking for the Cessna plane that crashed on Mount Mayon on Feb. 18, 2023, make their way toward the wreckage on a gully near the volcano’s summit crater on Thursday, Feb. 23. (Photo courtesy of the Cessna 340A Incident Command Post)
LEGAZPI CITY, Albay, Philippines — The retrieval team carrying the four bodies of those who died in a Cessna plane crash is expected to reach the base camp in Camalig town in this province early Sunday, Feb. 26.
Camalig Mayor Carlos Irwin Baldo Jr., the incident commander, said that the teams had to take a break to rest before making the trek down the steep slopes of Mayon Volcano.
“They are now on their way down, but we cannot determine the time of their arrival because the retrieval teams are possibly tired. Once they get exhausted, they will take a break,” Baldo told reporters in a press briefing on Saturday night at the municipal hall.
Baldo said the team successfully recovered the remains from the crash site at around 2:30 p.m. and started to transport by relay the cadaver bags using the anchor bolts and ropes installed along the steep slope of the volcano.
The teams found the remains on Wednesday. But they had difficulty retrieving them because of the dangerous terrain, with loose rocks and soil limiting their movement.
Article continues after this advertisementThe bad weather brought heavy fog that caused zero visibility in the area.
Article continues after this advertisementAboard the Cessna RPC340 were the pilot, Capt. Rufino James Crisostomo Jr.; his mechanic, Joel Martin; and their two Australian passengers, Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santhanam.
The plane went missing on Feb. 18 minutes after it took off from Bicol International Airport in Daraga, Albay. It was found 350 meters (1,148 feet) from the volcano’s summit crater.
