Philippine authorities launched a search effort atop a restive volcano after seeing what is believed to be the wreckage of a plane carrying two Australians, a Filipino pilot, and a Filipino crew member.
Energy Development Corp., a Manila-based geothermal company, acknowledged in a statement that the two Australians, Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santhanam, worked as technical consultants for the company.
"It's now the fourth day since they've gone missing, and considering the terrain and harsh weather, it's a difficult and challenging situation ... we continue to hope and pray that we will locate them," Allan Barcena, the company's assistant vice president and spokesman, said in a statement.
The six-seat Cessna 340 aircraft was its route to Manila when it lost touch with air traffic control on Saturday after departing Bicol International Airport in Albay province, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) reported.
Sunday, the company's emergency response team discovered debris at a height of around 6,000 feet (1,822 meters) near Mount Mayon, which last erupted in 2018.
Officials were still attempting to reach the debris and confirm that it belonged to the missing jet, CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio told PTV Monday.
"We only have aerial photos - the drone shots - but we cannot confirm if that is the said aircraft. Our accident investigators need to see the actual crash site on the ground," Apolonio said. "We need to find the plane first before we can determine what caused the crash."
More than 200 people, 34 vehicles, 11 drones, and four K9 dogs were deployed in the joint search and rescue operation to reach the aircraft in the remote volcano, according to the official Philippine News Agency.
The wreckage is close to a "permanent danger site" and a "no-fly zone" around the volcano, and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has authorized rescue teams to commence high-risk search operations, he said. Heavy precipitation and the threat of landslides have made the search more challenging.
When Mount Mayon last erupted, ash and lava forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of inhabitants. In 1814, at least 1,200 people were killed by the volcano's most destructive eruption.
HK Yu, the Australian ambassador to the Philippines, tweeted that the embassy is in communication with Philippine authorities and providing consular assistance to the families of the two Australians.
