Cessna plane search, retrieval ops ongoing

MANILA, Philippines — Search and retrieval operations for the passengers of a Cessna plane that crashed in Apayao are ongoing, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

CAAP spokesman Eric Apolonio said a helicopter departed at the Tuguegarao airport yesterday morning to go to the crash site. A representative of Echo Air International Aviation Academy Inc., the owner and operator of the aircraft, is among those on board.

Two platoons of the 5th Infantry Battalion, personnel of the Philippine National Police and members of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) are conducting ground search.

CAAP suspended the operations of Echo Air pending the results of an investigation and the search operations.

The Apayao PDRRMC had confirmed that the crash site was found at the boundary of Barangay Salvacion in Luna town and Barangay San Mariano in Pudtol, Apayao.

The plane, which had two passengers, went missing shortly after taking off from the Laoag International Airport on Tuesday.