Ten dead as Philippine plane crashes into house
March 17, 2018
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| Rescuers and investigators stand at the site where a twin-engine plane crashed into a house just after taking off in Plaridel town, Bulacan province, north of Manila on March 17, 2018. AFP / STR |
MANILA: Ten people were killed when a small plane crashed into a house in Plaridel municipality, Bulacan Province, north of the Philippine capital on Saturday, police and aviation officials said.
Police said that aside from all passengers on the plane, five members of the family in the house where the plane crashed were also killed.
Based on the record of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, those killed on the plane are the following:
* Captain Ruel M. Meloria (pilot)
* Romeo H Huenda (chief mechanic)
* Alicia N. Necesario (passenger)
* Maria Vera F. Pagaduan (passenger)
* Nelson T. Melgar (passenger)
There was some confusion on the number of people on board the plane, after the police first reported that there were 6 passengers, as they initially included the co-pilot, Efren L. Patugalan.
Bulacan Risk Reduction and Management Office chief Liz Mungcal said in an interview on dzMM that while the plane manifesto listed 6 people, a CAAP representative informed local officials that the co-pilot did not board the plane.
Family Killed
In its final report, Police Regional Office 3 (PRO3) said that the crash also killed 5 people who were at home when the plane crashed into their house. The police said Noel Tagle dela Rosa positively identified the following members of his family, which included his mother-in-law, wife, and 3 children:
* Louisa dela Rosa, 80
* Risa dela Rosa
* John-John dela Rosa, 17
* Timothy dela Rosa, 11
* Trisa dela Rosa, 7
Mungcal said In the radio interview early Saturday afternoon that Dela Rosa initially only identified the remains of his wife, mother-in-law, and daughter, but the other bodies retrieved at the site had been burned beyond recognition and would need to be identified with the help of authorities.
Mungcal added that the distraught father told them that his two sons were supposed to have gone to a computer shop, so he could not immediately confirm if they were killed as well.
The twin-engine aircraft crashed shortly after taking off in Plaridel town, Bulacan, killing all five aboard as well as three children, a mother and a grandmother from the family in the house, said Superintendent Julio Lizardo.
"We had to dig through the rubble to find the bodies," he said, explaining why the toll rose from an initial figure of seven dead.
Officials declined to say what may have caused the crash of the Piper PA-23 Apache, operated by a local charter company.
All aircraft operated by Lite Air Express were grounded pending investigations, CAAP's Apolonio said. - With reports from Rappler.com and ThePeninsula/RSP.
