Sun.Star
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
TACLOBAN CITY — Mayor Susan V. Parilla of Naval, Biliran has ordered continued search operation to verify and confirm the reported crash of a private plane in Imelda village early morning Tuesday.
A 28-man search team composed of personnel from the Biliran Geothermal Inc., local government unit of Naval, and the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (PDRRMC) will take off Wednesday morning to resume the search operation amid the negative result of the aerial survey that was conducted by two choppers of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) on Tuesday.
Search operation was temporarily halted Tuesday night due to difficult terrain.
The reported crash site is estimated to be around 30 kilometers away from the town proper of Naval and is in a mountainous area adjacent to Culaba town where communication signal is very limited.
Naval information officer Jerome D. Pitao said Mayor Parilla is not discounting the testimony of the three village residents who saw the plane crashed at the mountainous portion of the village.
The testimony was corroborated by statements from other locales that they heard a loud explosion.
Pitao added that the 11-man search and rescue team, mostly from the Bureau of Fire Protection, said there was a smell of fuel and burnt tire within in the area.
Pitao, meanwhile, said the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines based in Tacloban City has confirmed that upon their verification, all planes that took off from various airports have been accounted for. (PNA/Sunnex)
