Plane crashes in the Philippines, search under way for 4 on board

A Cessna 340 aircraft went missing early on Saturday morning soon after departing for Manila from Bicol International Airport, south of the capital

Debris of a Cessna plane was found near the crater of the active Mt Mayon volcano but authorities were still verifying if it was the missing aircraft

Reading Time:2 minutes

A Filipino villager looks on at the foot of the rumbling Mayon volcano, where debris of a Cessna plane was found near the crater but authorities were still verifying whether it was the same aircraft that went missing on Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 6:55pm, 19 Feb 2023Updated: 9:48pm, 19 Feb 2023

Rescuers struggled on Sunday to reach the slopes of an active volcano in the central Philippines where a small plane is believed to have crashed, officials said, with the fate of those on board still unconfirmed.

The plane with four people on board has crashed in central Philippines where rescuers were searching for survivors on Sunday, an aviation official said.

The Cessna 340 aircraft went missing early on Saturday morning soon after departing for Manila from Bicol International Airport, south of the capital, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said in a statement.

The plane was carrying two passengers, a pilot and a crew member, the aviation regulator added.

Manila-based Energy Development Corporation said the missing plane belonged to the company and it was seeking to confirm if the wreckage spotted on Sunday in “very steep terrain and high altitude of about 6,000 feet” was theirs.

Two of the four passengers on board the missing plane were Australian, Bicol police said, adding rescue teams with sniffer dogs had been deployed to find the crash site.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x