NO EASY TASK – Members of the team searching for the crash site of a Cessna plane that went missing on January 23, 2023, in the Sierra Madre mountains go deep into the forests of Divilacan, Isabela, amid unpredictable weather. Their mission ended on Thursday, March 9, 2023, at Barangay Ditarum, where the bodies of the pilot and five passengers were found. (PHOTO COURTESY OF PHILIPPINE ARMY 5TH INFANTRY DIVISION)
MANILA, Philippines — Rain and rough terrain hampered the start of retrieval operations on Saturday for the remains of passengers of a Cessna aircraft that crashed in Isabela more than a month ago, according to the Isabela Public Information Office (PIO).
The aircraft was reported missing on January 23 and authorities only announced the discovery of the wreckage on Thursday.
“The retrieval team arrived at the crash site today around 8 a.m. The rain and the slippery slopes slowed them,” said the Isabela PIO.
All five passengers and the pilot perished in the crash. The youngest of the passengers was a 10-year old child, according to authorities.
The Isabela PIO said that the bodies will be carried down from the mountain “as soon as possible.”
“The remains of the pilot and the five passengers will be respectfully placed in large plastic bags and then into the cadaver bags.”