The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) asked for help from their Hong Kong and Japan counterparts in searching for the missing Cessna plane in Isabela.

On January 24, the Cessna plane which left the Cauyan Airport did not land at Maconacon Airport. It had six passengers who were supposed to attend the funeral of a relative.

In a statement, CAAP said they requested help from the Hong Kong Mission Control Center (HKMMC) and the Japan Mission Control Center (JMCC) on Saturday to evaluate their system for any distress alerts related to the Cessna 206 (RPC1174).

Both countries said they did not detect any distress alerts from the Emergency Locator Transmitters.

“What we’re trying to do is continuous search and rescue operation via land and by air,” CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio told the Daily Manila Shimbun in a phone interview.

“The problem this morning is by air, we cannot ( do anything) because of the bad weather. So the two Huey helicopters will return back to the base. It is only the... team of the Philippine Army that is trying to penetrate the area.”

In a separate interview, Isabela Provincial Information Office administrative officer Joshua Hapinat said possible wreckage of the plane was found by residents close to Barangay Sapinit in Divilacan, Isabela.

“For now, we received information that as of 6:45 am, people who were 25 kilometers near the Ilagan-Divilacan Road spotted an object that could be wreckage on the mountain side near Sapinit,” Hapinat told dzBB.

“The report was not detailed but it could be wreckage,” he added. Jaspearl Tan/DMS