Kin asked to identify bodies of crash victims

MANILA, Philippines - Police have asked the help of relatives in identifying the seven passengers who died after the ill-fated Chemtrad plane crashed along the heavily vegetated area of Cagayan.

Cagayan Valley (Region 2) police director Chief Superintendent Roberto Damian said the bodies on board the search and rescue helicopter of the Philippine Air Force were already in an advanced state of decomposition.

Damian said the bodies were laid at the landing area of the airport while waiting for a priest to bless the remains.

He added that elements of the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) would process the remains and the relatives of the deceased would be asked to identify the bodies.

“The remains of the seven passengers of (the) plane that crashed in Cagayan arrived (here) on board the (Philippine Air Force’s) search and rescue helicopter,” Damian said.

“The remains will be processed (by the Philippine National Police) for proper identification with the help of the (victims’) relatives,” added Damian, who is also the head of the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council, which spearheaded the search for almost three weeks.

On April 14, the Chemtrad plane was found along the slope of the heavily vegetated area in Cagayan after 12 days the aircraft was reported missing on April 2.

The aircraft with tail number 764 left Tuguegarao airport but failed to reach its destination.

Police said those on board the aircraft were Capt. Tomas Yañez, co-pilot Chief Inspector Reiner Ruiz, Senior Police Officer 2 Rolly Castaños, Celestino Salacup, Abelardo Baggay, Joel Basilio and James Bakilan.

Damian said their decomposing bodies were entangled in the wreckage strewn at an altitude of more than 5,000 feet, making it very difficult for retrieval teams to extricate.

Search teams, which also included the military, local government personnel and civilian volunteers, only found the crash site on April 14, or 18 days after the plane went missing.

The plane was believed to have slammed into a mountain ridge in Baggao while trying to avoid bad weather on the way to Maconacon town. The pilots, according to initial reports, possibly miscalculated the height of mountain ridges in the area, causing the twin-engine plane to slam into the ridges.  – With Charlie Lagasca