Army joins search for missing plane
THE Philippine Army has joined the search for the missing Cessna plane in Isabela.
Search and rescue teams of the 95th Infantry Battalion (95IB), 5th Infantry Division (5ID) were deployed on Friday to look for the missing passengers of the ill-fated plane that crashed in the Sierra Madre mountain range of Isabela on Tuesday, the Philippine Army said on Saturday.
The 95IB, in close coordination with the Cagayan Valley Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMO), deployed three search and rescue squads composed of 33 personnel in Barangay Dicambangan, Divilacan; Barangay Sapinit, Divilacan; and Barangay Dibuluan, San Mariano.
The single-engined six-seater Cessna 206 plane (RPC 1174) went missing after departing the Cauayan Airport in Isabela. The plane, which carried six persons including the pilot, was supposed to land at the Maconacon Airport in the eastern seaboard of the province.
In a statement, Army commanding general Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said the Army’s search and rescue teams have been working around the clock with police and other government responders in conducting extensive search operations in the rugged terrain of Sierra Madre despite the bad weather.
Army Capt. Rigor Pamitan, Chief Division Public Affairs Office of the 5ID, said on Saturday that on the fourth day of the search operation they have not been able to determine where the missing Cessna is.
“Our local DRRMO has also sent personnel as well as the Divilacan LGU has also hired volunteers to help in our search,” said Pamitan in an interview.
“The clouds are always thick and it has been raining which affects the flight of our air assets.”
He said the search operations are focused in the forest of Barangay Dicaruyan where a farmer reportedly saw a plane in distress.
Constante Foronda, Isabela Provincial DRRMO officer, said the “Alpha site is our best bet as we identify if this is the missing aircraft.”
Foronda said they will also ensure that the survivors, if there are any, would be given the “best aided comfort” to alleviate their trauma.
A farmer reported to the Divilacan DRRMO that he sighted a plane which allegedly “went to the right and made a loop down” in Dicaruyan’s virgin forest.
A triage has been set at the airport in case the plane’s passengers extricated from the site survived the crash, he said.
“That is how optimistic we are, and we presumed that the plane landed safely,” Foronda added.