Plane crash in Camiguin claims Norwegian tourist

CAMIGUIN PLANE CRASH In this photo released by the Camiguin police, three men look at the remains of a Cessna plane that crashed in Camiguin province, central Philippines, Sunday, March 4, 2012. Police said a Norwegian woman and a Filipino pilot were killed when the small plane crashed after being lashed by strong winds while landing at an airport. AP Photo/Philippine National Police, Camiguin

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—A Norwegian tourist and a pilot were killed when  a Cessna plane crashed on Camiguin Island at 7:45 a.m. Sunday.

Chief Superintendent Jufel Adriatico, police chief for Northern Mindanao, identified the fatalities as Rachel Strande, 37, and Filipino pilot Christian Cesar Cebrecus.

Strande’s husband, Lars, 56, and their three-year-old son, Jeus Ola, were critically injured, according to Adriatico. Also injured was Indonesian Nurmala Dewi, the copilot.

Joel Moreno, security and intelligence officer of the Civil Aviation  Authority of the Philippines in Camiguin, in a report to the CAAP at Lumbia Airport here, said the plane aborted its landing, but crashed two kilometers away.

Mambajao town police officer Franquilino Linda told The Associated Press the chartered plane was trying to land when it was apparently buffeted by strong winds, lost control and missed the runway.

Linda, who saw the plane shortly before the crash, said “I think the pilot tried to abort the landing after missing much of the runway and tried to rapidly regain altitude but clipped the top of a coconut tree then slammed into another. The plane then tumbled down to the ground with the tree.”

The flight originated in Mactan, Cebu, 199 kilometers from Camiguin. Bobby Lagsa, Inquirer Mindanao; AP