The retrieval operations of the remains of the four Cessna plane crash victims from the Mayon Volcano are expected to take three more days, Albay Mayor Carlos Irwin Baldo said on Monday.
In a radio interview, Baldo said the rescue team were supposed to take the four remains down last February 25, but they had a hard time due to the inclement weather.
"Naibaba ng kaonti, pero dahil sa panahon and minsan, nag-zero visibility sa taas kahit hindi maulan. Ayun ang nararanasan ng ating retierval operators sa itaas," he said.
"Nagpahinga rin ang mga tao natin dahil stress na at pagod na talaga. Babalikan nila iyon," Baldo added.
The alert status of the Mayon Volcano is still under Level 2 based on the latest bulletin issued by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
The Albay Mayor said the retrieval operations would resume on Tuesday.
According to Baldo, a helicopter will hoist the body bags of the victims' remains.
"After namin makuha itong maibaba, itu-turn over sa SOCO [Scene of the Crime Operatives]. Then 'yung SOCO naman para sa investigation, then itu-turn over sa PNP [Philippine National Police]. After that, sa family na," he noted.
Regarding the wreckage of the Cessna plane, Baldo said the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has yet to announce its intentions to retrieve it.
Last February 23, authorities located the dead bodies of the two Filipino crew members and two Australian nationals on board the Cessna Plane, several kilometers from the Mayon.
The passengers were earlier identified as pilot Capt. Rufino James Crisostomo Jr., crewman Joel Martin, and Australians Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santhanam who were technical consultants for a local geothermal firm.
