Bodies of Maguindanao del Sur plane crash victims recovered

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — A helicopter carrying American rescuers fetched on Friday morning, February 7, in Barangay Malatimon in Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur the lifeless bodies of the four men together in a plane that crashed in the area the day before.

Officials of the Bangsamoro regional government told reporters at noontime Friday that they are certain that the airlift mission was coordinated with the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, which has units in Maguindanao del Sur province.

Barangay and municipal officials had confirmed that the men who disembarked from the CH-47 Chinook helicopter that landed near the crash site to retrieve the remains of the four men are Caucasians.

Emergency responders from towns around, among them senior members of the disaster risk reduction and management offices of different local government units, said that a team of “foreigners” arrived at Barangay Malatimon late Thursday and cordoned off the spot where the Raytheon Beechcraft King Air 300 had crashed.

Local officials told reporters that villagers divested the four individuals of their belongings and went away when they sensed that a team of foreigners and their Filipino guides were closing in.

There is a team of US military men based at Camp Siongco in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, where the headquarters of the Philippine Army’s 6th ID is located. They are helping capacitate Filipino counterparts on counter-terrorism and other security operations.  

One of the four crash fatalities was identified through his passport as Brandon Dustin.

US embassy spokesman Kanishka Gangopadhyay confirmed  on Thursday that the light plane was contracted by the US military. He did not provide details, however.

The US-Indo Pacific Command had said in a statement that it is keeping the names of the four persons killed in the plane crash while efforts to contact their families are still underway.

“The aircraft was providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support at the request of our Philippine allies. The incident occurred during a routine mission in support of U.S.-Philippine security cooperation activities,” the US-Indo Pacific Command said.