Philippines launches ‘very risky’ volcano search for missing plane with 4 on board
- Wreckage of a small plane has been spotted near the crater of Mayon Volcano in the Philippines’ Albay province
- Authorities said they would verify if it was the Cessna 340 that went missing with two Filipino pilots and two Australian passengers on board
The Cessna 340, which was bound for Manila, took off from Albay province southeast of the capital on Saturday morning with two Filipino pilots and two Australian passengers but has not been heard from since then, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said.
The Australians were working for a geothermal power company, officials said.
Mayor Carlos Baldo of Albay’s Camalig town and other officials told reporters on Sunday that, during an aerial search, authorities spotted the suspected wreckage, including the tail, scattered about 1,150 feet (350 metres) near the crater on the southwestern slope of Mayon Volcano but there was no indication of people.
Eric Apolonio, spokesman of the government’s civil aviation authority, said experts and investigators from the agency would have to examine the wreckage to determine if it was the missing Cessna plane with registry number RP-C2080 and to determine the fate of the four people on board.