Body parts believed to be from one of the two individuals on board a civilian aircraft that crashed in Dinagat Islands on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, were recovered at the crash site.

The  Cessna plane, RPC 2444, went down afternoon on Wednesday in the mountainous area of Barangay Navarro, Tubajon town.

Residents first reported hearing a loud explosion at around 1 p.m.

According to Governor Nilo Demerey, Jr., the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) earlier alerted them about a missing Cessna plane with tail number RPC 2444, which had taken off from Subic around 9 a.m.

The provincial government immediately launched search and rescue operations, which eventually led responders to the crash site around 4 p.m.

A part of the aircraft bearing the tail number was found at around 6 p.m.

Demerey said the plane was last monitored at 8,000 feet and was attempting to glide toward Siargao. However, upon reaching 7,000 feet, it suddenly went into a steep dive before crashing.

“Nakita 8,000 feet, ni-glide to land sa Siargao, pero sa 7,000 feet, nibulusok na siya unya nitusok (nahagsa) sa Barangay Navarro. Ni-dive ra gyud siya,” Demerey said.

Due to the impact, the plane was buried, requiring responders to dig through the soil that covered it.

Authorities are still identifying the recovered remains while search and rescue operations continue, as of this writing.