SAN PEDRO, Laguna – Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Archie Francisco Gamboa and seven others survived a helicopter crash here Thursday.
Gamboa, along with three other PNP officials, two pilots and two passengers, were onboard the Bell 429 helicopter after inspecting an impounding area of the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) in Barangay San Antonio.
When the aircraft took off at around 8 a.m., its rotor blades got caught in a power cables causing it to crash, according to acting PNP spokesman Police Major General Benigno Durana.
Gamboa was conscious when responding HPG officers removed him from the crashed helicopter. He was first brought to West Lake Medical Center in San Pedro, Laguna but was later transferred to the St. Luke’s hospital in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.
Also hurt in the incident were PNP spokesman General Bernard Banac, pilots Police Lieutenant Colonel Zalatar, co-pilot Police Lieutenant Colonel Macawili, Police Senior Master Sergeant Estona and Gamboa’s aide-de-camp Police Captain Gayrama.
PNP Major General Mariel Magaway and PNP Major General Jose Ma Victor Ramos, meanwhile, were both in critical condition in separate hospital as of press time.
“We were informed that Magaway and Ramos are in critical condition, but they are being well attended to by our doctors and medical personnel,” Durana said in a press conference.
“The PNP chief is in stable condition. Ang concern ni Chief PNP ngayon ay ‘yung safety and complete recovery ng iba pa niyang kasamahan,” he added.
As part of precautionary measure, Durana said that the PNP has ordered the temporary grounding of the entire PNP fleet, while it is still to be determined if the pilots need to undergo retraining.
“The PNP Command Group and Quad Staff has convened and immediately ordered the temporary grounding of the entire PNP fleet of rotary-wing aircraft as a standard procedure while an investigation is underway,” Durana said.
“On whether the pilots need to undergo further training depends on the outcome of the investigation. May standard investigation po ‘yun. Kasi sila po ay very-much trained,” he added.
Meanwhile, Malacañang welcomed the news that Gamboa is now in stable condition as they also asked the public to refrain from making speculations relative to the incident as investigation is ongoing.
“The Office of the President is glad that Police General Gamboa is safe and suffered no serious injuries from the accident,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.
“All of them are now being attended to by doctors and we are hoping – as we are praying – for their swift recovery,” he added. “We ask the public to refrain from making speculations as investigation is still ongoing.”/PN
