Camalig mayor terminates Cessna 340A operations

Camalig Mayor Caloy Baldo has officially terminated the Cessna crash operations after responders retrieved and safely dropped off the bodies of all the 4 onboard the plane.

The search and rescue operations for Cessna 340A ran for more than 5 days until operations were shifted from rescue to retrieval, following the confirmation of the 4 passengers’ actual location, identity, and situation.

The bodies of Pilot, Rufino James T. Crisostomo Jr., Mechanic, Joel G. Martin, and the 2 Australian passengers, Mr. Simon Chipperfield and Mr. Karthi Santhanam were turned over to the Scene of the Crime Operation (SOCO) for further investigation.

Meanwhile, Baldo also expressed gratitude to the efforts and the courage of the responders who put their lives on the line during the operations.

Part of the operations were mountaineers from the Albay Climbing Community (ACC), Mayon Mountaineers, Federation of Bicol Mountaineers Inc., Mountaineering Federation of the Philippines, Inc., and the Wilderness Search and Rescue (WISAR), as wel as the local guides.

The Naval Special Operations Group (NAVSOG), the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Army, Energy Development Corporation (EDC), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine Air Force (PAF), Philippine Navy also joined the operations.

The mayor also offered sympathies to the bereaved families and friends of the 4 crash victims, reiterating his sustained vow of not giving up on the search and retrieval of the 4 bodies.