Cessna plane wreckage, 6 bodies found in Philippines

MANILA: Search and rescue officials on Thursday found the wreckage of a Cessna plane and the six bodies of those on board the aircraft that went missing shortly after take-off from an airport in Philippines' Isabela province on January 24, a local official said on Thursday.

Constante Foronda, the Isabela Provincial Risk Reduction and Management Office chief, said rescuers found the debris in a remote, forested mountain slope near a coastal municipality, reports Xinhua news agency.

"The wreckage was identified by its colour and tail number," Foronda told a radio interview.

He added that workers are retrieving the bodies and it could take up to three days to bring them down due to the terrain and depending on the weather.

He said the plane was ripped apart and its pieces scattered around the mountain slope.

The small aircraft was heading to a coastal town in Isabela province but failed to reach its destination.