Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 19) — The Cessna plane that was reported missing in Albay has been found after over 32 hours since its disappearance, Camalig Mayor Carlos Baldo announced Sunday.
In a Facebook post, Baldo said the Cessna 340A reportedly went down on the upper part of Brgy. Quirangay, along the Anoling Gully, less than two kilometers from the Incident Command Post of the Forest Rangers. Camalig public information officer Tim Florece confirmed to CNN Philippines’ Newsroom Weekend that the crash site was located some 350 meters from Mayon Volcano’s crater. Florece said search and rescue responders were earlier pulled out of the operations due to the risks posed by Mayon Volcano, which is currently under Alert Level 2 or “moderate unrest” status. Local authorities said they will closely coordinate with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology regarding the operations. Ongoing pa po yung meeting… [The meeting is ongoing…] One of the highlights of the meeting, Mayor Caloy urged the national agencies to provide augmentation support in the form of modern equipment kasi hindi po talaga malapitan yung actual site [because it is not possible get near to the actual site ],” Florece said. Florece stressed search and rescue operations will continue unless the remains of the passengers are found. According to Baldo, Pilot Capt. Rufino James T. Crisostomo Jr., crew Joel G. Martin, and two Australian passengers, Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santanan, have yet to be found. Chipperfield and Santanan are technical consultants of the Energy Development Corporation. The company said it has informed their respective families of the situation. “Considering na [that] we are currently experiencing bad weather plus the threat of Alert Level 2 of Mayon, there will be delays pero [but] as directed by the mayor, hindi dapat sumuko lalong lalo na at stake ang mga buhay ng tao [we should not give up especially when lives are at stake],” Florce said.
The aircraft took off from Bicol International Airport for Manila at 6:43 a.m. on Saturday. Air traffic control’s last contact with the plane was at 6:46 a.m.
