THE remains of six victims of a Cessna plane crash in Isabela last January 24 were finally transported Tuesday to a funeral home in Cauayan City for documentation and proper identification before being released to their respective families, the Journal Group learned.

Taking advantage of the good weather, Air Force helicopters flew the remains of the six from Divilacan before ground troops transported them to the Carbonel Funeral Homes in Cauayan City.

Search-and-rescue teams from the PNP Special Action Force who were involved in the 46-days effort to find the ill-fated aircraft and the six people aboard remained in Divilacan as of press time.

They are waiting for available commercial vessels that will bring them to the Port of Sta. Ana, Cagayan prior to their return to their moth units.

After 46 days, government search teams last Saturday finally recovered the badly decomposing bodies of the six victims of the plane that crashed in the thickly-forested area of Divilacan, Isabela last January 24.

The Isabela Incident Management Team said the retrieval team reached the crash site in Barangay Ditarum, Divilacan around 8 a.m. after braving difficult terrain and unfavorable weather.

“The rain and the slippery slopes slowed them. Difficult terrain and the area’s thick jungle are contributing to the difficulty of retrieving the bodies which may take days,” the IMT said.

Commandos from the PNP-SAF, the Divilacan Rescue 314, Divilacan Municipal Police Station, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Coast Guard, the Army’s 95thInfantry Battalion and the Maconacon Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office reached the crash site 8 in the morning.

A report to PNP-SAF director, Brigadier General Rudolph B. Dimas said rainy and foggy weather and the high ground and highly-vegetated area where the plane went down as well as lack or very weak cellphone and radio signal were the problems encountered by the retrieval teams over the past six weeks.

The ill-fated plane crashed at the slope portion of the mountain and tore down into pieces with many of its scattered parts found at the crash site.

Four of the victims were found 10-15 meters away from the point of impact while that of the pilot and one of his child-passengers were found at the point of impact.

Some of the remains were already in an advanced state of decomposition while others only had their bones.

The remains of the six were placed in large plastic bags before being sealed in cadaver bags. They were carried down the mountain to Divilacan proper by the search teams.

The plane went missing after taking off from Cauyan Airport in Isabela.