Bodies of missing Philippine Navy Bolkow pilots recovered

Above, an undated photo of a Philippine Navy Bolkow chopper from wapedia.com and the crashed chopper retrieved in Zamboanga City. (Mindanao Examiner Photo - Jung Francisco)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 19, 2010) – Military rescue teams have recovered the bodies of two pilots of a Philippine Navy helicopter that crashed at sea off Zamboanga City in the southern region of Mindanao, officials said on Thursday.

“The bodies of the two pilots have been recovered,” said Lieutenant Hari Cunanan, a spokesman for the Philippine Navy.

He said the corpses were recovered near the islands of Santa Cruz where the Bolkow chopper went down during an exercise Tuesday. He said three of its passengers were rescued and is in stable condition.

Cunanan said the wreckage of the chopper was retrieved a day after it went down and towed to a naval headquarters in Zamboanga City.

He said the chopper crashed while taking photos and videos off the coast of Zamboanga as part of a routine exercise when the aircraft went down. There were suspicions that the chopper crashed due to engine trouble. (Mindanao Examiner)

Downed navy chopper recovered in Zamboanga

Philippine soldiers recover Wednesday, August 18, 2010 the wreck of a navy Bolkow chopper that crashed off Zamboanga City. Security officials say three passengers were rescued, but the two chopper pilots are still missing. (Mindanao Examiner Photo – Jung Francisco)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 18, 2010) – Philippine troops have on Wednesday resurfaced a navy chopper which crashed at sea off Zamboanga City in the southern island of Mindanao, officials said.

Officials said the Bolkow helicopter was recovered a day after it went down near the islands of Santa Cruz, several nautical miles southwest of Zamboanga, but there was no sign of the two pilots.

Three passengers were rescued from the chopper shortly after it crashed, said Lieutenant Hari Cunanan, a spokesman for the Philippine Navy in Mindanao. “The search is continuing,” he said.

He said the chopper crashed while taking photos and videos off the coast of Zamboanga as part of a routine exercise when the aircraft went down. There were suspicions that the chopper crashed due to engine trouble.

Navy divers and patrol boats were sent to the area near Santa Cruz Islands to help search for the pilots, he said. (Jung Francisco and Ramon Deles)

Philippine Navy chopper crashes off Zamboanga City

A Philippine Navy Bolkow helicopter similar to this crashes off Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines.

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 17, 2010) – A Philippine Navy helicopter crashed at sea Tuesday while taking photos and videos off the coast of Zamboanga City in Mindanao, officials said.

Officials said three passengers were rescued from the Bolkow chopper, but its two pilots were still missing. “We have rescued the three passengers and efforts are going on to find the two pilots who are still unaccounted for,” said Lieutenant Hari Cunanan, a spokesman for the Philippine Navy in Mindanao.

Cunanan said those rescued – Petty officers Rodolfo Pataueg, Noel Ridad and Abdon Martinez – were taken to a military hospital. “They are now in stable condition,” he said.

He said the chopper was taking aerial photos and videos off Zamboanga City as part of a routine exercise when the aircraft went down. “We still don’t know what happened, but this will investigated,” the spokesman said.

Navy divers and patrol boats were sent to the area near Santa Cruz Islands to help search for the pilots, he said. (Jung Francisco and Ramon Deles)