RESCUERS SEARCH FOR PHILIPPINE MINISTER, 2 PILOTS AFTER PLANE CRASHES INTO SEA

                                                                              Image : Reuters

Police and other residents carry a part of ill-fated five seater Piper Seneca aircraft recovered a day after it crashed off the sea on Masbate island in central Philippines on Sunday.

MANILA, Philippines –  About 300 rescuers searched Sunday for Philippine Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and his two pilots after their small plane crashed into the sea while attempting an emergency landing. An aide of Robredo made a dramatic escape from the plane and was helping in the search, officials said.

The four-seat Piper Seneca took off Saturday from central Cebu City, where Robredo had met local officials, and was 30 minutes into the flight to his hometown of Naga City when one of its two engines stalled.

 The Filipino pilot and Nepali student co-pilot attempted to land in Masbate province, but missed the runway by about 500 meters (550 yards), Transport Secretary Mar Roxas said.

President Benigno Aquino III flew Sunday with his defense chief and the heads of the national police and the military to Masbate, about 380 kilometers (235 miles) southeast of Manila, to oversee the U.S. military-backed search.

Rescuers found a portion of the right wing and a copy of the flight plan under water in an area where what appeared to be skid marks and metal parts on the seafloor were detected by sonar equipment. Divers and military aircraft suspended their operations before nightfall but planned to focus their search in that area on Monday, Roxas told reporters, adding that the search by boats would continue through the night.

Dozens of divers and ships scoured the sea while helicopters crisscrossed overhead all day. Troops and police searched along the coast and a U.S. Navy plane flew over the area twice to look for the wreckage.

20/08/2012  :  Associated Press / Fox News.

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