Indian student and pilot found dead after Philippines plane crash

Bad weather hinders rescue operation as additional forces sent on air force chopper

Wreckage of a small plane with two persons on board was found in Apayao (Datawrapper/ The Indpendent)

An Indian student and his trainer pilot have been found dead after the wreckage of a small plane was recovered following a crash in the Philippines.

The Cessna 152 aircraft went missing on Tuesday afternoon, and after a search operation in Apayao province both people on board were confirmed dead by authorities on Wednesday. They have been identified as Filipino pilot Edzel John Lumbao Tabuzo and Indian national Anshum Rajkumar Konde.

According to the civil aviation authority, the operation to retrieve the dead bodies is still ongoing.

A medical and rescue team on board a Philippine Air Force Black Hawk has been sent to the site of the crash but the chopper was yet to spot an area to land.

The aircraft left from Laoag City in northern Ilocos Norte province around noon on Tuesday but failed to land three hours later as expected in Tuguegarao city in Cagayan province.

Eric Apolonio, a spokesperson for the agency, said the plane received clearance to take off from Laoag, where the weather cleared after typhoon Doksuri passed through the region last week.

The Philippine air force, army troops and other government personnel were pressed into the search operation but struggled due to bad weather.

The last signal transmission from the aircraft was received 35 nautical miles northwest of Alcala, Cagayan, the Apayao provincial administration said.

Civil aviation officials received an INCERFA message, which refers to uncertainty about the safety of an aircraft, at 2.37pm local time on Tuesday from the Tuguegarao flight service station.

All operations of the aircraft’s operator, Echo Air, have been suspended, CNN Philippines reported.

It was the third crash incident involving a Cessna plane in the country this year. Last February, all four people on board a Cessna died after it crashed near Mayon Volcano’s crater.