The bodies of four people who were on board a small plane that crashed into an active volcano in the central Philippines late last week have been found, authorities said Thursday.
A team of rescuers reached the crash site on Wednesday and confirmed that there are no survivors, said Carlos Baldo, mayor of the municipality of Camalig, whose territory covers the crash site.
Four people, including two Australians, were on board the aircraft, a Cessna 340 which left for Manila last Saturday from Bicol International Airport, in the central province of Albay and not far from the Mayon volcano.
The plane disappeared shortly after takeoff. It crashed on the western slopes of the crater, at an altitude of 1070 to 1200 meters, according to civil aviation.
A team of 179 people was mobilized to lower the bodies, Baldo said. She could arrive at the foot of Mayon on Thursday evening.
“It’s very difficult terrain” and the recovery of the bodies could take more than a day, warned Cedric Daep, a disaster management official in Albay.
“It’s very steep and there are ridges where only one person can climb at a time,” he added.
The wreckage of the plane was located on Sunday but rain, clouds and the risk of an eruption make access to the crash site difficult.
Another rescue team, with experienced climbers, began the ascent of Mayon on foot on Tuesday.
The aircraft belonged to the Manila-based Energy Development Corporation, which employed the two Australians killed in the crash.