MANILA, Philippines — The crash site of a Cessna plane has been reportedly located in Camalig Albay, but the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said the information was still under verification.
In a post on social media yesterday, Camalig Mayor Caloy Baldo said the wreckage of the plane was spotted in Barangay Quirangay.
Baldo said the crash site was found more than 32 hours after the plane’s disappearance.
“The aircraft reportedly crashed on the upper part of Barangay Quirangay, along the Anoling gulley, just less than two kilometers from the incident command post of the forest rangers,” Baldo said in the post. “The pilot, Capt. Rufino Crisostomo Jr., his crewman Joel Martin and two Australian passengers, Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santanan, are yet to be found.”
The mayor said authorities are investigating the crash site to map out factors that led to the incident.
“Search and rescue operations are still in effect. Unless dead bodies are found, it will be declared as search and retrieval operations,” Baldo said.
The CAAP said the plane took off from Bicol International Airport at 6:43 a.m. on Friday.
The plane was the second Cessna that went missing in less than a month. – Cet Dematera, Rudy Santos