Captain of ill-fated Laoag Air plane cries

The captain of the ill-fated Laoag Air flight 585 which crashed yesterday killing 16 people cried and covered his face before TV cameras, saying he was ashamed that people were killed.

"He is suffering right now," said a relative of Bernie Crisostomo, the captain.

"I saw the plane going down with black smoke on its wings," said fisherman Andres San Juan who was at the crash site at 6 am.

He and his companions found Gemma Desala, a flight stewardess, who was still alive in the Manila Bay. "Unfortunately, she died at San Juan de Dios at 4pm," said San Juan.

Juan Formielo, 55, a crew member who survived, told President Gloria Arroyo, when she visited him at Manila Hospital, that when the plane hit the seabed, he managed to go to the passengers and help them unfasten their seatbelts.

"I am sorry that I failed to get all the passengers out of the plane," said Formielo.

Another crew member, Adhika Espinosa, said he tried to save some of the passengers by unfastening their seatbelts. "But when I was doing that, many of the passengers were already dead. Some died instantly," he said.

Rescuers valiantly tried to bring up the plane in several parts, submerged in waters 47 feet deep.
Second lease of life.

"We tried to bring up the plane so that we could get all the passengers, but it always slipped back because of the mud," said a rescuer.

At 4pm, rescuers managed to bring up half of the plane. "I consider this my second lease of life," said Bishop Jose Salazar, 65, of Batanes, northern Luzon.

Another survivor, Maria Fitero, 65, vowed to continue praying that other survivors will "miraculously surface alive soon". "It was so cold, I thought I would die while underwater," she said.

A total of 16 people were rescued six hours after the incident.

Fishermen and yachts that were docked at the Manila Yacht Club rescued Joseph Gardener, the co-pilot; Steve Thompson, 25, and Bryan Forester, 40, Australians.

The majority of survivors were admitted to intensive care units at hospitals. Their testimonies will be used to find out what caused the crash.

Divers of the coast guard, navy, air force and army came in full force in 10 boats to undertake the rescue operation, which ended in late afternoon.

Earlier, fishermen found the body of Nestor Bernal, a crew member.

Relatives were crying when they identified the body of Jomer Dierro, 4. His father, Nolly Dierro, 31, was seriously injured and did not know that his son had died. Reports said his mother was also injured.

TV footage showed the bodies of the foreigners being recovered.

The four foreigners who died are: Dareen Green, Van Thuan Nguyen, who was carrying an Australian passport, and his relatives, Minm Nguyen, and Julia Nguyen.

The Rada family suffered three fatalities. They were identified as Earl John and Cherly Rada, and their mother Josefina. She is connected with the government. Relatives in the north vowed to file charges against the airline.

Four more were reported missing and were feared trapped under water. They included foreigners identified as Tim Coddington, Sam Coddington and Nick Wright.

"The airplane broke because of the impact. Its tail fins gave way before the plane crashed into the water. Some witnesses claimed seeing passengers floating as soon as the plane landed on the water," said air transportation office director Edilberto Yap.

"As soon as the pilot took off, he declared an emergency to the air tower. He announced his plan to land at the shoreline. The other plan was to make a ditching to Manila Bay," said Yap, adding that engine trouble might have caused the mishap.

The plane crashed three kilometres from the reclaimed portion of the Manila Bay.

Representatives of Rolls Royce International, makers of the engine, will arrive in Manila today for the investigation.