MANILA, Philippines — Remains of four casualties in a plane crash were finally retrieved on top of the Mayon Volcano after seven days of grueling operations that saw responders battling heavy rains and inclement weather.
Camalig, Albay Mayor Carlos Irwin Baldo Jr. shared the latest development, Saturday, in a Facebook post regarding the incident that involved the passengers of the Cessna 340A.
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"Following reports from the retrieval team, stating the successful recovery of the 4 bodies onboard Cessna 340A, 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," said Baldo this afternoon.
"To recall, Camalig Local Chief Executive and Cessna 340A operations ground commander, Mayor Caloy Baldo frequently instructs the teams to treat the bodies with respect through proper management and utmost privacy."
The team of responders was earlier struggling to set up anchor bolts due to the area's loose and damp soil caused by heavy rains this morning.
Anchor bolts with safety ropes were said to have been utilized in relaying the bodies down the slopes of the volcano, which is dubbed as one of the "seven wonders of the world" due to its almost perfect cone shape.
A total of 385 responders were mobilized during the operations. Among the team members who moved to the crash site were:
- mixed mountaineers (3)
- Naval Special Operations Group (3)
- Philippine Army (7)
- Bureau of Fire Protection - Special Rescue Force (3)
"[D]eployed at the Forest Ranger Station are 20 personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), 10 from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), 6 mixed mountaineers, 3 from the Energy Development Corporation (EDC), 3 medics, and 5 porters tasked to hand out provisions of food and water to the teams," Baldo said in a separate post.
Around 297 personnel under the Philippine National Police were also deployed to render ground security in priority areas.
The local chief executive revealed last Thursday that none of the four victims survived the crash.
All of this happened while the Mayon Volcano is under the Alert Level 2, when sudden phreatic explosions, rockfall and lahar could be experienced.
Two Australian nationals were among the four who died. They were reported to be "technical consultants" for a renewable energy company called Energy Development Corp.