- All four persons aboard had been declared dead.
- All four individuals worked for the Manila-based geothermal corporation.
- The six-seater Cessna 340 aircraft lost communication with air traffic control on Saturday.
Authorities in the Southeast Asian country announced Thursday that all four persons aboard a small aircraft that crashed in the Philippines over the weekend had been declared dead, following a perilous search expedition atop a restive volcano.
The bodies of pilot Rufino James Crisostomo Jr., crew member Joel Martin, and Australian technical consultants Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santhanam, have been found on Mount Mayon volcano and a team was working to retrieve them, citing Camalig Mayor Carlos Irwin Baldo.
According to Richard Tantoco, president and chief operating officer of Energy Development Corp., all four individuals worked for the Manila-based geothermal corporation.
“Our heartfelt sympathies go to their families and friends during this difficult time,” Tantoco said in a statement.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, the six-seater Cessna 340 aircraft lost communication with air traffic control on Saturday after leaving Bicol International Airport in Albay province (CAAP).
On Sunday, the wreckage was discovered at an elevation of around 6,000 feet (1,823 meters). However, rainy circumstances, the potential of landslides, and a “moderate” level of volcanic instability hampered search operations, according to CAAP.
Citing CAAP, an inquiry into the crash is ongoing.
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