9 dead as small plane crashes at Calamba resort in Laguna

MANILA, Philippines (4th UPDATE) – All 9 people aboard a medical evacuation plane were killed after their light aircraft crashed in Calamba City, Laguna, on Sunday, September 1.

Police said the bodies of the 9 fatalities had been retrieved from the wreckage as of 8:16 pm on Sunday.

Aside from the pilot and co-pilot, among the dead were the patient being transported, the patient’s wife, a doctor, and nurses.

Two others in the resort area were injured, said police.

The small plane crashed at the Agojo private resort in Purok 6, Miramonte Subdivision, Barangay Pansol, at around 3 pm on Sunday.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), in a statement, said the plane was a BE350 medical evacuation aircraft with registry number RP-C2296. Police initially said it was a two-seater plane.

The aircraft had come from the Dipolog Airport in Zamboanga del Norte and was bound for Manila. CAAP said it lost radar contact at around 3:10 pm while flying 25 nautical miles from Manila.

The crash caused a fire at the site, which was declared under control as of 4:45 pm.

CAAP sent Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board investigators to the crash site. – Rappler.com