from GMANews.TV
MANILA, Philippines - Rescuers on Tuesday recovered the body of one of the nine crew members of the missing Philippine Air Force C-130 aircraft off Davao City, bolstering fears that the plane which was reported missing since Monday night may have crashed in sea.
Eastern Mindanao Command spokesman Maj. Armand Rico confirmed the retrieval of the crewman's body, even as he said that operations remain underway in search for the other crew members.
Authorities have earlier identified the aircraft’s pilot as Major Manuel Sambrano, and his co-pilot as Captain Adrian de Dios, a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy Class 1999.
The crew members include:
• Flight Technical Sergeant Constantino Lobregat , • Staff Sergeant John Arriola, • Staff Sergeant Gerry Delioso, • Staff Sergeant Felix Pedro Patriarga, • Staff Sergeant Petronilo Fernandez, • Staff Sergeant Patricio Claur Jr, and • Staff Sergeant Aldrin Ilustrisimo.
For his part, Robert Olan-Olan, village chairman of Brgy. Bucana in Davao City, said residents of Brgy. Bucana and the nearby Brgy. Agdao found plane tires and body parts off Davao City around noon Tuesday.
"Hindi buong body, parts of the body (These are not intact bodies but body parts)," Olan-Olan said in an interview on dzBB radio.
A separate report by GMA-7 Davao television reporter Tek Ocampo said other items retrieved by local residents included combat boots and documents that appeared to be part of an aircraft manual.
Forensic experts have arrived in the area to examine the items, the report said.
Olan-Olan had cited reports from local fishermen saying "something big" fell into the water but could not confirm whether it was an airplane. "Di na-recognize ng tao dahil umuulan (Many could not recognize it because it was raining)," he said.
Earlier in the day, Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Pedrito Cadungog said the C-130 aircraft left Davao International Airport about 8:50 p.m. Monday to pick up personnel from the Presidential Security Group (PSG) in Ilolilo City and bring them back to Manila.
Cadungog said the plane was expected to have arrived in Iloilo about 10 p.m. Monday, but around 10 minutes after take off, authorities lost contact with the aircraft and later declared the aircraft missing.
Officials had earlier feared that the plane likely crashed, adding that search and rescue efforts are currently focused within a 20-mile radius of Davao City.
"We lost contact with the plane 10 minutes after take off. The aircraft most probably crashed...we are concentrating our search within a 20-mile radius in Davao City. Several aircraft are also involved in the search," Cadungog said.
Cadungog said that authorities are still baffled by the aircraft's disappearance because the C-130 is manned by seasoned pilots and because the plane was recently installed with a new engine and an auxiliary power unit last August 15.
The Air Force chief said the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard are helping out in the search, while the United States also has extended its assistance in the operations.
Cadungog said a US long-range patrol aircraft has joined other air and sea assets deployed by the local military and Coast Guard to search for the missing C-130 aircraft. - GMANews.TV
Body of missing C-130 crewman recovered
Body of missing C-130 crewman recovered off Davao
Originally Posted by rAnzter
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