After almost two weeks of grueling operations, all four fatalities from a Cessna plane crash on Mount Mayon last month were finally retrieved from the slopes and transported to the base of the volcano. According to reports, responders were able to find a shorter trail that helped speed up the operation. The first body was brought down on March 1 near the command post at Barangay Anoling in Camalig, Albay, after almost five hours of continuous relay by responders, composed of mountaineers, government personnel, residents, and other volunteers.
The Camalig Mayor, Carlos Irwin Baldo Jr. confirmed that the second body was dropped off on Thursday at 1:07 a.m. and the third body at 3:13 a.m. At 11:15 a.m., the teams arrived at the location of the fourth body and started the trek down. The last body arrived at the command post at 6:43 p.m on Thursday after a two-hour trek by responders from the Forest Ranger station.
The crash site was situated 350 meters from the summit crater of the volcano, making it a difficult task for the retrieval teams. However, good weather conditions on Wednesday helped the team carry out the operation unhampered. Responders were able to relay each body, and another group waited in the next area along the trail.
The retrieval team followed the trail suggested by five residents who first found the crash site. The trail was shorter and helped speed up the movement of the ground operation.
Tim Lawrence Florece, a municipal information officer, said that the initial group of responders possibly did not know the trail where the ‘Magnificent 5’ used to hike, referring to the five residents who discovered the wreckage.
The families of the victims have expressed their gratitude to the responders for their efforts in retrieving the remains of their loved ones. The families are requesting privacy and will not grant media interviews.
Crisostomo and Martin were employees of Energy Development Corp. (EDC), while the Australian passengers were technical consultants. The plane crashed on February 18, and the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Mayor Carlos Irwin Baldo Jr. expressed his gratitude for the selfless efforts of the responders. He thanked the mountaineers from various organizations, local guides and residents, and the government personnel from the Naval Special Operations Group, the Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine National Police, Philippine Army, Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine Air Force (PAF), Philippine Navy, and other volunteers. He also acknowledged the EDC for their full logistics support during operations, providing daily supplies of food, water, equipment, and other augmentation since day one.
