Indian student pilot, trainer dead in Philippines plane crash

Manila, Aug 3: An Indian student and his trainer pilot died after the wreckage of a small plane was recovered following a crash in the Philippines, authorities said.

Anshum Rajkumar Konde and Captain Edzel John Lumbao Tabuzo were onboard the Cessna 152 aircraft that went missing in Cagayan province on Tuesday, according to the official Philippine News Agency.

Rescue operations are underway to retrieve the bodies of Tabuzo and Konde from the crash site in Apayao province, the agency said.

The plane’s wreckage and bodies were spotted by a medical and rescue team on board a Black Hawk helicopter of the Philippine Air Force on Wednesday.

The aircraft was on its way to Tuguegarao City Airport in Cagayan from the Laoag International Airport in Ilocos Norte.

The last signal transmission from the aircraft was received 35 nautical miles northwest of Alcala, Cagayan, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said.

Last February, all four people on board a Cessna died after it crashed near Mayon Volcano’s crater.