ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – Search and rescue teams have recovered two of the four bodies from the four-seater Cessna 172 aircraft which crashed on a mountaintop soon after it departed the Douglas-Charles Airport on January 26 en route to Martinique, National Security Minister Rayburn Blackmoore confirmed on Monday.

He told a news conference that the wreckage of the plane was discovered “on a mountain top in the heights of La Plaine,” on the island’s southeast coast, in a rugged area that poses significant challenges for recovery teams.

The Dominica Air and Sea Ports Authority (DASPA) in a brief statement last Monday said the aircraft had lost communications after its departure at around 3.46 pm (local time).

Blackmoore said that with the assistance of personnel from the French island of Martinique, the wreckage was sighted the day following the crash, but that it was impossible to reach by foot. He said the search teams had photographed the terrain, the crash site and the wreckage of the plane.

“We were able to get the assistance of the French because it was clear then it would have been impossible to access that crash by foot,” he said, adding that the French provided a helicopter and personnel who are trained “in difficult interventions.

“Thus far two bodies have been recovered from the crash site and by (last)Wednesday it was clear then it would have been very difficult to continue with the (existing) strategy to recover the two other bodies… that were actually trapped in the plane itself,” Blackmoore said.

He said in partnership with the French a decision was taken to “do some stock-taking and to come back with a new solution and we are committed to doing everything possible and feasible in ensuring that the two other bodies are recovered and of course, finality can be brought to the families and friends”.

Blackmoore said the reason why the authorities had not been communicating daily with the media and the general public following the plane crash was because ‘we had to show respect for the grieving families.

“We would have liked at that time to have recovered the four bodies. On Friday (last) a further assessment was done, and partnering with the French, we have been able to source the experts needed to return to the site with the express view of recovering the bodies,” Blackmoore said, adding “we are fully committed as a government, working with the French Departments of Martinique and Guadeloupe” to retrieve the bodies.

Blackmoore defended the decision not to disclose the names of the four people on board the plane, telling reporters the situation “can impact” the grieving family members.

“That is why we have not disclosed the names of the passengers who have gone to the great beyond and this exercise is not going to do that either,” Blackmoore said , adding that the investigations into the crash is being led by the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA), the civil aviation authority serving the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) of which Dominica is a member.