Manila: A senatorial candidate survived a crash early yesterday afternoon after a helicopter he was riding in snagged treetops while flying in poor visibility in the northern Philippines' Mountain Province.
Luis "Chavit" Singson, incumbent governor of Ilocos Sur province and a senatorial candidate for President Gloria Arroyo's endorsed Team Unity, said he sustained minor injuries but is otherwise "unharmed."
"We were shaken, but except for some minor scratches and injuries we are safe," Singson said in an interview aired by radio station dzBB after the accident.
Aside from Singson, three others, including the pilot, a photographer and the governor's bodyguard, were aboard the rented Robinson R-44 helicopter when the mishap occurred.
Singson said he was on the way to a campaign stop in the village of Bayyo, in Bontoc when low cloud cover and uneven terrain prompted the pilot, Captain Diosdado Lumalanlan, to make a forced landing.
"The helicopter was flying very low when it suddenly hit a tree and I was nearly flung out of the cockpit," Singson said after he and the other crash victims were taken to a local clinic for medical treatment.
Senior Superintendent Joseph Adnol, Cordillera police spokesman, said it was possible that Captain Lumalanlan, the pilot, miscalculated the helicopter's altitude because of poor visibility.
