MANILA, Philippines, Sept 2 (NNN-PNA) – All seven passengers and two pilots on board an 11-seater private plane were killed, in a fiery crash on Sunday afternoon, in Laguna province, south of Manila, in the Philippines.
The medical evacuation plane, carrying seven passengers, a pilot and a co-pilot, crashed into a private pool resort, inside a subdivision in Pansol, a village in Calamba City, around 3:00 p.m., the report said.
Police said the King Air 350 plane, with tail number RPC 2296 was transporting a patient from Dipolog City, in Zamboanga del Norte province, in the southern Philippines, to Manila for medical treatment.
Among the passengers onboard were the patient’s wife, a doctor and medical staff, plus the two pilots. All nine died, the report added.
“As of 8:16 p.m. (last night), nine cadavers were retrieved from the wreckage,” the report said, adding investigators and airline personnel are in the process of identifying the bodies.
The report said the private plane took off from Dipolog City airport at 1:40 p.m.
The report said, the two caretakers who were at the resort during the crash were also injured and taken to a local hospital for treatment.
According to witnesses, smoke engulfed the low-flying plane before it crashed and exploded in fireball. They said that the plane attempted to ascend before it hit the ground.
Metal debris were falling from the plane while it was trying to manoeuvre, witnesses added. Firefighters and emergency personnel rushed to the scene minutes after the crash.
