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Two have been confirmed dead, while six were injured, when a private helicopter crashed in a forested area near Mount Maculot in Barangay Pinagkaisahan, Cuenca, Batangas on Sunday.
The helicopter had a tail registry number RP-C2726.
The incident happened at past noon. At around 12:30pm, the six injured victims were brought down from the mountain and rushed to the Martin Marasigan Hospital for treatment.
Police and residents in the area said it was raining and the mountaintop was foggy when the incident happened. They were on their way back to Manila from Puerto Galera.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash, including the possibility that it was related to weather disturbances caused by tropical storm “Egay.”
Manila Bulletin reports that one of the seven passengers was Archie King, head of Victoria Group of Companies. He is the son of Chinese Filipino billionaire and philanthropist Angelo King and Belen Rosario from the family that owned COD department store in Cubao before.
The other casualty was Capt Felissimo Taborlupa, the pilot.
Philippine Red Cross chairman Richard Gordon confirmed the incident with Inquirer.net.
The other passengers have been identified by Manila Bulletin as King’s wife Ling-ling, socialite model Tina Ocampo, her husband Ricco De Ocampo, Tatler magazine editor Anton San Diego, Christopher Chilip, Patricia Chilip.
They have been transferred to St Luke’s Medical Center in BGC, according to the report.
With reporting from ABS-CBN
Photo: Screengrab from YouTube
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