By: Raydes B. Barcia
Legazpi City —A six-seater Cessna plane owned by the Energy Development Corporation carrying four people including the crew went missing a few minutes after taking off at Bicol International Airport on Saturday morning at 6:43 AM here.
Massive mountain search and rescue (SAR) effort is underway within the slopes of Mayon volcano specifically in Quirangay village, Camalig town where sighting of Cessna plane reported beforeCedric Daep, Apsemo chief in Albay said that all disaster responders in the municipalities in the third district of Albay were alerted and conducting massive search and rescue efforts including barangay officials to locate the missing Cessna plane after departing at Bicol International Airport.
The Bureau of Fire Protection and 31st IB of the Philippine Army sent a search and rescue team to uncover the private plane declared missing after departing from Bicol International Airport.
According to the initial report, the Cessna 340 with a tail number RP-C2080 aircraft departed at 6:43 AM but shortly after leaving the Bicol International Airport (BIA) the aircraft lost contact.
The last contact was somewhere in Camalig town at 2,600 ft at around 6:48 AM and was instructed to report 20 miles out of BIA. Unfortunately, several minutes after taking off from the BIA, the CAAP Control Tower was trying to contact the plane but no response since 6:48 AM last contact.
“There are reported sightings in Camalig but we don’t have positive feedback. We have reported that the passengers and the aircraft came from Bacman, but not confirmed yet. We have many teams on the field as of to date,” he said.
Village chieftain Pablo Miraran, said that residents in Sitio Bogtong in the Bantunan were able to see a plane flying low with fumes or smoke.
An employee of Energy Development Corporation who refused to be identified confirmed that the missing Cessna aircraft is owned by the EDC.
“We confirm that our Aircraft C340 that took off from the Bicol International Airport (BIA) at 6:45 am today, February 18, was reported missing,” the source told Rapid News PH.
“We have immediately started our search and rescue operations in coordination with local authorities. We will provide additional information on the incident as they become available,” the source said.
When asked the names of the passengers and the pilots, she withheld the names of the crew and the passengers. Report said that the aircraft was piloted by Capt. Rufino James T Crisostomo Jr. (PIC) and Joel G Martin (Crew) with two passengers identified as Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santanan, both Australian citizens.
Mayor Caloy Baldo of Camalig, said the MDRRMO responders of his town including the barangay officials are working together to locate the possible location of the missing aircraft with foreigner passengers and two crew.
The six-seater aircraft was supposed to land in Manila at 7:53 a.m. carrying four persons. The 6-seater Cessna 340 plane with tail number RP-C2080 took off at Bicol International Airport at 6:43 a.m. of February 18, while the aircraft was passing through Camalig town.
Daep said that several government agencies are working together to locate the missing aircraft somewhere in the second or third district of Albay.
But the rescuers are facing difficulty following the torrential rainfall brought by the shear line and northeast monsoon here. The rescuers are heading to Quirangay village, where the probability to locate the missing Cessna plane is high.
The composite team of rescuers from local government unit of Camalig led by Mayor Caloy Baldo, the Bureau of Fire Protection, village officials, the Office of Civil Defense and Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (Apsemo), EDC, Philippine Army, and all other national government agencies are conducting massive search mission to locate the missing Cessna plane that went missing on Saturday here.