‘No survivors’: Bodies of passengers of crashed Cessna plane found in Albay

MANILA, Philippines – The bodies of four people on board a Cessna plane that crashed in the town of Camalig, Albay, over the weekend have been found. 

“Wala na pong buhay. Retrieval na lang po,” Camalig Mayor Carlos Baldo told radio DZBB on Thursday, February 23, when asked about the condition of the people on board the plane – the pilot, one crew, and two Australian consultants of Lopez-led Energy Development Corporation (EDC).

(No one survived. We’re now just doing a retrieval.) 

Due to the difficult terrain, Baldo said it would take around four hours to bring down the bodies from the crash site.

In a statement, Richard B. Tantoco, president and chief operating officer of EDC, condoled with the bereaved families. 

“We mourn the confirmed passing of our dear colleagues, pilot Captain Rufino James Crisostomo Jr., Joel Martin, Simon Chipperfield, and Karthi Santhanam,” he said. “Our heartfelt sympathies go to their families and friends during this difficult time.”

The EDC also thanked rescuers from the national and local government, civilian volunteers, and the EDC Emergency Response Teams. The company is the Lopez Group’s renewable energy (RE) company with an installed capacity of 1,480 megawatts comprising around 20% of the Philippines’ total installed RE capacity.

Authorities located on Sunday, February 19, the crash site of the Cessna plane that went missing the previous day. 

The Cessna 340 (Caravan) aircraft with registry number RP-C2080 crashed near the crater of Mayon Volcano. 

The light plane left Bicol International Airport at 6:43 am on Saturday, February 18, but it lost contact three minutes after.

Last January, a Cessna plane went missing in Isabela. It has yet to be found as of posting. – Rappler