Rescue workers in the Philippines are undertaking a “very risky operation” to reach the wreckage of a small plane that crashed over the weekend with four people on board, including two Australians. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) confirmed that the wreckage of a plane spotted near the crater of the Mount Mayon volcano was the missing Cessna 340 aircraft.
The plane was located on the western slope of the volcano, about 3,500 to 4,000 feet (1,070 metres to 1,200 metres) above sea level. Mayon volcano is 2,462 metres (8,077 feet) high. A high-resolution camera was used to positively identify the wreckage, CAAP spokesman Eric Apolonio said.
Attempts to lower rescue teams to the crash site by helicopter were aborted on Tuesday due to strong winds and cloud cover, officials said. Instead, search and rescue teams, including veteran mountaineers, began making the steep climb on foot. They were expected to camp overnight and reach the crash site on Wednesday.
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology director Teresito Bacolcol warned there was a risk of a “steam-driven eruption or a rockfall”. “It’s a very risky operation,” Bacolcol said. “If they are willing to take the risk, only professionally trained and experienced personnel should be involved.”
George Cordovilla, one of the mountaineers involved in the rescue effort, has climbed Mayon several times in the past and said it was a difficult ascent. “It could easily erode and trigger rockfalls even if there’s no eruption. Some are caused by wind, water or rain,” he said.
Mayon is currently under the second of five volcano alert levels, meaning volcanic earthquakes, steam and gas emissions, ground deformation and intermittent ash and steam blasts have been sporadically detected. Alert five means a major and deadly volcanic eruption is under way. Access to its slopes is restricted due to the risk of eruption.
The Energy Development Corporation previously confirmed that the missing plane belonged to them and that the two Australians were technical consultants for the renewable energy company. It is not known if there are any survivors.
Meanwhile, a single-engine Cessna plane that went missing on January 24 with six people on board in the northern Philippine province of Isabela remained missing. Officials said a search for the plane was continuing on and off, depending on the weather, in a remote mountainous hinterland in Isabela.