Down Chemtrad plane found by Mountaineers

find no survivors, CAAP won't confirmed until officially verified

April 14, 2009

MANILA - Rescuers today found the wreckage of the private plane that was declared missing 12 days ago shortly after its take-off in northern Philippines but none of the seven people on board survived the crash.

"There were no survivors according to the report," said Cagayan Valley regional police director Chief Superintendent Roberto Damian, adding that the wreckage was found along the slope of a heavily vegetated area in Baggao, Cagayan province.

The islander plane owned by Chemtrad Aviation Corp. took off on the morning of April 2 from Tuguegarao city in Cagayan but failed to reach its destination in Maconacon, Isabela province on time, prompting authorities to declare it missing.

Damian said military aircraft attempted retrieval operations in the past week but bad weather and strong winds and the lack of landing zone prevented the rescuers from reaching the crash site.

It was one of the two plane crashes in this month in northern Luzon region.

A presidential chopper crashed in the mountains of Ifugao province last week, killing eight people on board including senior aids of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Bad weather, again, was blamed for the tragedy while the authorities are still probing other possible causes.