Recovery teams have retrieved two bodies from the wreckage of a Cessna 172 aircraft that crashed in the mountains of La Plaine, Dominica’s National Security Minister Rayburn Blackmoore announced Monday.
The aircraft, carrying four people, went down shortly after departing Douglas-Charles Airport for Martinique on January 26. Air traffic controllers lost communication with the plane at 3:46 p.m.
Search teams located the wreckage the following day on a mountaintop in La Plaine, on the island’s southeast coast. The remote location posed significant challenges for recovery efforts, prompting authorities to seek assistance from French rescue teams.
French authorities from Martinique deployed a helicopter and specialized personnel trained for high-risk operations. Despite their expertise, two victims remain trapped in the wreckage, forcing officials to revise their recovery strategy.
The Dominica Air and Sea Ports Authority confirmed the communication loss but has not released details about the crash’s cause. French authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.
Officials are withholding victims’ identities to protect grieving families.