CITY OF ILAGAN, Isabela (PIA) - - The Cagayan Valley Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council - Incident Management Team (CVDRRMC-IMT) has confirmed that the missing Cessna 206 plane that was went missing for more than a month was already found by one of the deployed Search and Rescue teams.

Divilacan Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Engr. Ezekiel Chavez said a search team composed of police, military, fire and Dumagat volunteers found the missing aircraft at Barangay Ditarum, Divilacan, Isabela which is part of the Sierra Madre mountains.

Chavez said that the composite team already found the lifeless bodies of the passengers including the pilot in the wreckage of the aircraft in the said place on March 9, 2023 and now shifted from search and rescue to retrieval operations.

He said the retrieval operations on the cadavers of the pilot and the six passengers may take up to three days, but it may be shortened if the weather permits the retrieval team.

It can be recalled that the Cessna 206 with tail number RP - C1174 with five passengers and the pilot went missing after it took off from Cauayan City Airport on the afternoon of January 24, 2023.

On January 25, 2023, the CVDRRMC has formed the Incident Management Team to conduct search and rescue operations and mobilized the trained search and rescue teams from the Philippine Army (PA), Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau Fire Protection (BFP), Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Air Force (PAF) K9 Units from PNP, IP volunteers, MDRRMCs of Divilacan and Maconancon, the PDRRMO Isabela personnel and the Provincial Government of Isabela and all other volunteers and search teams just to search the missing aircraft.

CVDRRMC - IMT Commander Atty. Constante Foronda Jr. has expressed his thanks for the sacrifices and efforts of the different search and rescue groups to locate the missing aircraft for 43 days.

He also extended his thanks to the Office of Civil Defense, Provincial Government of Isabela under the leadership of Gov. Rodolfo Albano III and Vice Gov. Faustino G. Dy III and all other government agencies for the full support extended during the search and rescue operations. (OTB/MGE / PIA Isabela)