BUTUAN CITY – A Cessna plane crashed into the side of a mountain in Barangay Navarro, Tubajon town, Province of Dinagat Islands (PDI) on Wednesday afternoon, April 8.
A report reaching the Police Regional Office-13 in Camp Col. Rafael C. Rodriguez here stated that the plane was destroyed by fire.
Residents heard a loud explosion at around 1 p.m. when the civilian aircraft with tail number RP-C2444 crashed.
Search and rescue operations were launched and authorities reached the crash site in the evening.
Data from FlightAware.com said the aircraft left the Subic Bay Freeport Zone at 9:04 a.m. on Wednesday and was last tracked near Surigao City at 12:44 p.m.
The provincial government deployed the Incident Management Team (IMT) and the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and drone operators to support aerial assessment and mapping search efforts for the pilot of the plane and his companion.
Rescue teams found pieces of aircraft debris at 7:45 p.m.
A team from the Provincial Forensic Unit in PDI is processing the area. Possible pieces of human body parts were discovered.
Investigation is ongoing.