Manila, February 20 The Philippines emergency team has launched a complicated search operation for four passengers aboard a plane that crashed near the crater of the Mayon volcano in the north of the archipelago on Saturday and which has the second highest possible eruption alert.
As confirmed to EFE this Monday by the spokesperson for emergencies in Camalig, Albay -on the northern island of Luzon, where the Mayon volcano is located-, Jom Anders, the rains, poor visibility and obstacles to access around the crater “seriously hamper” the rescue operation.
The aircraft, a Cessna 340 aircraft heading to Manila, crashed Saturday morning near the Mayón volcano just minutes after taking off with four passengers on board, including two Australian nationals, the spokesman said. Philippine Civil Aviation, Eric Apolonio. .
Philippine authorities confirmed on Sunday that they had found the wreckage of the crashed plane near the crater of the volcano, which is very active and in danger of imminently spouting volcanic ash (alert level 2 out of 4), in an area where the ground vehicles cannot easily access.
Rains and poor visibility are currently preventing emergency helicopters from landing in the area, and they hope to resume the rescue operation tomorrow, Tuesday, Anders told EFE.
The energy company Energy Development, owner of the damaged aircraft, transmitted Sunday to the local media ABS-CBN the hope that the passengers are found alive.
This is the second Cessna plane crash in the Philippines since the beginning of the year. In January, another aircraft of this type apparently crashed in the Sierra Madre, the mountain range that forms the backbone of the island of Luzon, without the remains of the aircraft or its crew. have yet been found. EFE
fsg/pav/jac