14 killed as plane crashes into slum area

MANILA, Philippines - A four-seater cargo plane crashed into a slum area in Parañaque City yesterday, triggering an inferno that left at least 14 people, including two children, dead and scores injured, officials said.

Mayor Florencio Bernabe said rescuers recovered the charred bodies of at least 12 people, including two victims believed to be the pilot and co-pilot of the twin engine Beechcraft light plane.

Bernabe said there were also reports that 20 people have been rushed to different hospitals. Most of the victims were brought to the Parañaque Doctors Hospital and Parañaque Community Hospital along the South Luzon Expressway.

Gwendolyn Pang, secretary-general of the Philippine Red Cross, also said an unspecified number of people had been taken to hospital with burn injuries.

Chief Inspector Enrique Sy of the Parañaque City police said at least five people were killed instantly when the plane crashed and exploded near F. Serrano Elementary School at Annex 35 Taiwan in Barangay Don Bosco.

The plane, with tail number RP-C824, crashed at around 2:30 p.m. yesterday shortly after it took off from the Manila Domestic Airport for San Jose, Mindoro, officials said.

Bernabe said witnesses saw the plane dive down to the playground near the school building and exploded upon impact.

“Most of the victims were children who were playing and some residents doing their daily chores,” Bernabe said.

The plane crash triggered a fire that engulfed the school building and at least 70 shanties nearby.

Bernabe said it was fortunate that the crash occurred on a weekend when there were no classes.

“We are thankful that this happened on a Saturday (when there are no classes),” he said.

A woman claimed her sister Maricel Rodriguez Garado, 34, was among those who died instantly in the crash. She recalled hearing a screeching sound before seeing a plane dive down and exploded near the house of her sister.

Marites Sabidario said her husband Ronald died during the fire, but thanked him for saving her and their four children from being consumed by the blaze that engulfed their rented apartment.

“Ronald asked me to go down and catch our kids as he threw them to me from the window in his effort to save us from the burning plane and as it reached our home,” she said in Filipino.

At the crash site, rescuers retrieved several bodies, which they described as having been burned beyond recognition, apparently from the fire that was ignited by the jet fuel of the plane when it exploded on impact.

Ramon Gutierrez, head of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, said the plane would have been carrying a full tank of fuel when it crashed.

He said the pilot had asked to be allowed to make an “emergency re-landing” at the airport shortly after takeoff.

“Unfortunately, the plane did not make it,” he said, adding that the cause of the crash was not immediately known.

Gutierrez said the plane was scheduled to pick up cargo from Mindoro when the accident occurred.

Gutierrez tasked Capt. Amado Soliman of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Inquiry Board to determine the cause of the crash.

Soliman reported that there appeared to be a third passenger in the ill-fated Queen Air, reportedly owned by Innovators Technology Inc., although this was still being investigated.

Bernabe added at least 600 people have been rendered homeless by the crash. He said the city government would be coordinating with the plane owner for compensation and medical treatment of the victims.

Bernabe said the displaced residents would be temporarily housed in a covered court inside the subdivision while the barangay gym would serve as the temporary classroom of the students of the damaged school.

The plane’s flight path apparently crossed several residential areas that included Merville Subdivision, Moonwalk and Better Living Subdivision, all in Parañaque City.

The three residential areas are directly in the path of aircraft taking off from and landing at the Manila Domestic Airport.

There have been several crashes in the area during the last decade, with airplanes landing on top of houses and killing their occupants.

Many residents have planned to leave and relocate to safer areas every time such accidents occur, but they apparently chose to remain once the apparent threat subsided.

Merville Subdivision and nearby areas were supposed to have been the site of the future parallel runway of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport until it was overtaken by housing subdivisions. - With Rudy Santos