Plane wreckage spotted near active Philippine volcano’s crater

• Authorities in the Philippines planned to launch a search expedition.
• The plane that went missing with four people on board over the weekend.
• The Cessna 340 was carrying two Filipino pilots and two Australians.

Philippines, Manila — Authorities in the Philippines planned to launch a search expedition near the crater of a volatile volcano on Monday after seeing the likely wreckage of a small plane that went missing with four people on board over the weekend.

The Cessna 340 was carrying two Filipino pilots and two Australians when it lost communication after departure from Albay province southeast of the capital Saturday morning on its way to Manila, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

The Australians were consultants for Energy Development Corp, a huge geothermal power firm. The organization stated that it has dispatched personnel aided by helicopters and drones to assist in the hunt.

“We will not stop until they are found,” company official Allan Barcena said.

According to Mayor Carlos Baldo of Albay’s Camalig town and other officials, an aircraft search uncovered the suspected wreckage, including the tail, around 1,150 feet from the crater on the steep southwestern slope of Mayon Volcano. There were no signs of life.

Rainy weather impeded a ground search over the weekend.

As the weather clears, about 60 search and rescue professionals may scale the 8,077-foot Mayon, according to Baldo. Because of the restlessness of Mayon, one of the country’s 24 active volcanoes, they will also require aid from volcanic scientists and local politicians.

“It’s a very risky operation,” Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology director Teresito Bacolcol told The Associated Press. “It’s a race against time and it’s a matter of life and death but there’s also the danger of rockfalls and volcanic lahar.”

Residents are generally forbidden from accessing a 3.7-mile-wide permanent hazard zone around the volcano.

“There is no other missing plane in the area and there’s testimony from residents, who saw the plane flying unusually low before they heard an explosion,” Baldo told by telephone.

He suggested that the rescuers be dropped closer to the likely crash site via helicopter.

Mayon, a renowned tourist destination because of its nearly perfect cone, recently erupted in 2018, displacing tens of thousands of residents.

It is currently on the second of five volcano warning levels, which means that volcanic earthquakes, steam and gas emissions, ground deformation, and sporadic ash and steam bursts have been observed. A huge and lethal volcanic eruption is occurring, according to alert level five.

Also Read

Philippine economy grows at 7.2% rate in Q4 2022, higher than expected

The Philippine economy grew 7.2% annually in the fourth quarter of last...