Philippine rescuers recover body of interior secretary after crash

Rescuers on Tuesday recovered the body of Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo three days after his plane crashed at sea in the eastern Philippines.

The body of Robredo, 54, was found about 800 metres from the shore of Masbate City, 390 kilometres south-east of Manila, Transportation and Communication Secretary Mar Roxas said.

Rescuers were also retrieving the bodies of the two pilots from the cockpit of the Piper Seneca twin-engine plane that crashed on Saturday because of engine failure, Mr Roxas said.

Mr Roxas said Robredo’s body was pulled from the fuselage of the plane, which sank to a depth of about 55 metres.

Keywords: Philippines plane crash, Interior Secretary, Jesse Robredo, Masbate City