Cessna plane wreckage found near Mayon crater; search for survivors ongoing

MANILA, Philippines – Authorities located on Sunday, February 19, the crash site of the Cessna plane that went missing in Camalig, Albay, the previous day.

“The aircraft reportedly crashed on the upper part of Barangay Quirangay, along the Anoling gulley [of Mayon Volcano], just less than 2 kilometers from the Incident Command Post (ICP) of the Forest Rangers,” Camalig Mayor Caloy Baldo said on Facebook on Sunday afternoon.

“Authorities are presently investigating the crash site to map out factors that led to the recent incident in town,” he added.

A couple of hours earlier, the Philippine Information Agency reported that wreckage from the Cessna 340 (Caravan) aircraft with registry number RP-C2080 was found around 350 meters from the crater of Mayon Volcano, a detail that the Camalig Public Information Office confirmed to CNN Philippines later on Sunday.

The Manila-bound plane was carrying a total of four people – two Australian passengers, a pilot, and a crew member – when it left the Bicol International Airport at 6:43 am on Saturday, February 18, but it lost contact 3 minutes after.

The two Australians are technical consultants of Energy Development Corporation.

“Search and rescue operations are still in effect unless dead bodies are found, then it will be declared as search and retrieval operations,” Baldo said.

Just in January, a Cessna plane also went missing in Isabela. It has yet to be found. – Rappler.com