MANILA, Philippines, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Philippine Interior Secretary Jesse Manalastas Robredo was on board a small plane that crashed Saturday afternoon, officials in Manila said.
Robredo and the Piper Seneca's two pilots were missing, The Philippine Star reported. Senior Police Inspector Jun Abrazado, who was rescued by fishermen, said Robredo and the pilots were still on the plane when it sank.
Abrazado said the pilot, Capt. Jessup Bahinting, was trying to land at Masbate Airport. A Nepalese trainee pilot, Kshitiz Chand, was also aboard.
The plane was en route from Cebu City, where Robredo attended a ceremony for volunteers, to Naga City, where he was to watch his daughter receive a sports award. Robredo was Naga mayor before President Benigno Aquino made him interior and local government secretary in 2010.
A U.S. Navy survey team has joined rescue groups from the Philippine Coast Guard, Navy and National Police in the search.
