Missing Cessna Plane located in Apayao, two fatalities confirmed

PUDTOL, Apayao — In a swift response to a distressing report, Police Provincial Office (PPO) provincial director Jefferson Cariaga immediately deployed a Search Rescue and Retrieval (SRR) team to conduct an extensive search and rescue operation following a tragic incident involving a Cessna plane that crashed during a training routine flight between the municipalities of Luna and Pudtol.

 

Previous reports disclosed that the plane took off from Laoag, Ilocos Norte, on Tuesday, August 1, 2023 days after Typhoon Egay swept through the Cordillera region.

 

It was supposed to land in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan.

 

However, the airplane was last detected in Alcala Town, Cagayan, before losing contact with the plane.

 

According to Apayao PPO, an Incident Command Post was established at Salvacion Elementary School, while the joint SRR Team of Apayao PPO, together with the Bureau of Fire Protection, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Marines, Apayao Disaster Risk Management Office, Luna MDRRMC, Brgy. Salvacion BDRMMC, and Community volunteers, conducted search and rescue operations.

 

After more than six (6) hours, the crash site was found in the boundary between Barangay Salvacion in Luna and San Mariano Pudtol town on  Thursday afternoon, August 3, 2023.

 

The two passengers on board the Missing RP-C8598 CESSNA 152 Plane were identified as Capt. Edzel John Lumbao Tabuzo from San Juan City and student pilot Anshum Rajkumar Konde, an Indian national.

 

Tragically, the operatives discovered the lifeless bodies of the two victims at the crash site.

 

The lifeless bodies were transported to Amma Jadsac District Hospital, Poblacion, Pudtol, Apayao, while the crucial black box of the CESSNA plane was promptly handed over to the appropriate authorities.

 

These officials are now conducting a thorough investigation to uncover the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident.