Cessna retrieval operations suspended

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines — Teams conducting the retrieval of the remains of the passengers of a Cessna plane that crashed on Mayon Volcano suspended their operations yesterday due to heavy rain and strong winds.

“If this bad weather condition will continue, retrieval efforts could be delayed further and might again take the whole week or until Sunday,” a team member told The STAR.

Fresh and “refreshed’ responders were supposed to put up additional anchors to bring down the remains of the victims.

“It is risky to stay airborne with prevailing strong winds,” a source privy to the retrieval operations said.

Cedric Daep, chief of the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office, admitted that the ongoing retrieval operations are difficult.

“But we will not stop strategizing in order to bring down the bodies. We are also concerned with the bodies’ decomposition though these are all placed inside cadaver bags,” Daep said.

He said retrieval efforts are dictated by the weather and conditions on the volcano.

“Due to bad weather, the steep slopes of Mayon are also slippery, loose and prone to erosion,” Daep said.

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said search and rescue operations for a missing Cessna plane in Isabela were suspended, also due to inclement weather.

“There was bad weather in the past three days, so the search and rescue team could not fly,” CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio said.

He said ground operations were also hampered by bad weather.

Apolonio said there was an attempt to fly over the suspected crash site yesterday. He said the mission was aborted as the weather made it “too dangerous to fly.”

The Cessna 206 aircraft, which has six passengers, was reported missing shortly after it took off from the Cauayan Airport in January.

It was supposed to land after a 30-minute flight at Maconacon Airport, also in Isabela. – Ralph Edwin Villanueva