MANILA: Rescuers struggled on Sunday to reach the slopes of an active volcano in the central Philippines where a small plane is believed to have crashed, officials said, with the fate of those on board still unconfirmed.

The Cessna 340 aircraft with four on board went missing shortly after departing for Manila from Bicol International Airport in Albay province, several kilometres from Mayon volcano, on Saturday.

Energy Development Corpora­tion said the missing plane belonged to the company and it was seeking to confirm if the wreckage spotted on Sunday in “very steep terrain and high altitude of about 6,000 feet” was theirs.

Two of the four passengers on board the missing plane were Australian, Bicol police said, adding teams with sniffer dogs were deployed to find the crash site.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2023