Two men from Adelaide who were declared missing after a light plane crash in the Philippines have now been confirmed dead, days after the incident.
Speaking from Fiji this morning, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said rescue crews had reached the site of the crash on an active volcano in Albay province overnight.
Four men, including Australians Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santhanam, were on board the twin-engine Cessna when it crashed on Saturday on Mayon volcano.
Rescue efforts had been hampered by weather conditions and the remoteness of the location, but a search team yesterday approached the site which is more than 1,000 metres above sea level.
Authorities had continued to hold out hope of finding survivors, but have since confirmed the discovery of the men's bodies.
"Sadly there are no survivors," Senator Wong said.
"On behalf of the Australian Government, I'd like to extend my deepest sympathy to the families of the two men, Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santhanam, both from Adelaide, my hometown, as well as the Filipino nationals involved."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is today visiting Adelaide, also expressed his sorrow and said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been providing support to the victims' families.
"My heart goes out and my condolences go to the families of two Adelaide men who were on that flight," he said.
"My condolences also to the people of the Philippines for the Filipino nationals who've lost their lives in this tragedy.
"I do also want to thank the search teams who travelled into relatively remote area in dangerous circumstances."
Two soldiers involved in the search were also shot dead in what local authorities described as a suspected terrorist attack by communist insurgents.
The Philippines's official government news agency said Private John Paul C. Adalim and Private Mark June D. Esico were killed while gathering supplies for the search operation.
"I also wish to acknowledge and express condolences to the families of two soldiers who were killed during the search and rescue," Senator Wong said.
Mr Chipperfield and Mr Santhanam were employed by Manila-based geothermal company Energy Development Corporation (EDC) as technical consultants.
In a statement, the Philippine Information Agency said another batch of responders would be deployed today to retrieve the bodies of the four victims, including pilot Rufino James Crisostomo Jr and crew member Joel Martin.
Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office chief Cedric Daep said the responders would be mobilised to assist the 28-person team that was deployed yesterday.
Dr Daep confirmed that the immediate family members of all the men, including the two Australians, had been informed of the retrieval operation.
Both men used to work for Santos, who said they were at the company "for many years" and had "a number of friends and former colleagues throughout the Adelaide and Brisbane offices".
"Our thoughts are with Simon and Karthi's families and loved ones," Santos said earlier this week.
Mayon, the volcanic site of the crash, is the most active volcano in the country and last erupted in 2018, spewing tonnes of ash, rocks and lava.
Access to its slopes is restricted.
