Philippine Coast Guard SAR boats respond to deadly plane crash off La Union province

The Philippine Coast Guard has deployed search and rescue (SAR) boats to the waters off La Union province in response to an incident involving a crashed civilian single-engined aircraft on Wednesday, May 26.

The boats were sent to an area 300 metres off the town of Caba to aid in the recovery of the downed aircraft after it impacted the water at around 11:26 local time.

With the aid of local police, the coast guard SAR personnel recovered parts of the aircraft as well as the unconscious pilot, who has been identified as a 25-year-old male, from the waters off Caba. The individual was brought to hospital but was later pronounced dead.

An initial investigation revealed that the aircraft had taken off from nearby Zambales province and was flying over the area as part of a scheduled training flight when the incident occurred.

The coast guard said its SAR teams were still in the area as of 15:30 on Wednesday to search for additional debris that may help investigators identify the probable cause of the crash.