Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25) — Authorities have retrieved the bodies of the four passengers of the Cessna plane that crashed near Mayon Volcano’s crater in Albay a week ago, Camalig Mayor Carlos Baldo confirmed.
“The Incident Management Team (IMT) now starts to plan the proper handling of bodies, their drop off point, ground security protocols, and turn over to concerned authorities and eventually to the bereaved families,” according to the mayor in a Facebook post.
Authorities earlier identified those onboard as pilot Capt. Rufino James T. Crisostomo Jr. and crewman Joel G. Martin, both employees of local geothermal firm Energy Development Corporation; and the company’s Australian technical consultants Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santhanam.
The aircraft took off from Bicol International Airport for Manila at 6:43 a.m. on Saturday and its last contact with the air traffic control was at 6:46 a.m.
The retrieved items such as identification cards, cash, wallet, mobile phones, and laptop were already turned over to the police for forensic assessment.
