Medevac plane crashes in Calamba City; 9 confirmed dead

Nine people were confirmed dead after a plane crashed in Barangay Pansol in Calamba City, Laguna on Sunday afternoon, according to a report by Luisito Santos on Super Radyo dzBB.

Initial information from the Laguna Police Provincial Office said that it received the report on the crash at around 3:34 p.m.

A police update at 5:50 p.m. said that the plane was a medical evacuation aircraft that had been earlier reported missing since 3 p.m. on Sunday.

A report on Agence France-Presse said that the plane was a King Air 350 light aircraft. 

According to the police report, the plane was transporting a patient from Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte to Metro Manila for treatment. 

Two people—John Ray Roca, 19, and Malou Roca, 49—were injured and have been taken to hospital. 

According to a report from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the Office of Civil Defense IV-A said that the two are caretakers of the house the plane crashed into. Malou suffered a first-degree burn on her arm, while John Ray suffered a second-degree on his face and first-degree burns on both legs.

Victims identified

An update at 8 p.m. reported that the death toll was now at nine, up from seven dead reported at 7:20 p.m.

Authorities confirmed to dzBB that the nine fatalities had been on the plane, even though only eight people had been listed on the manifest.

The Lionair Evacuation Team assisted the rescuers in identifying the recovered bodies, according to Jeffrey Rodriguez, head of Calamba City's Public Order and Safety Office.

The fatalities were identified as:

1. Captain Jesus Hernandez (pilot)
2. First Officer Lino Cruz Jr. (co-pilot)
3. Dr. Garret Garcia
4. Kirk Eoin Badiola (nurse)
5. Yamato Togawa (nurse)
6. Ryx Gil Laput
7. Raymond Bulacja
8. Tom Carr (patient)
9. Erma Carr (wife of patient)

 — LA/BM, GMA News