Boholano Philippine Air Force (PAF) pilot Captain Aurelios Olano who died when the helicopter he was operating crashed in waters off Getafe town earlier this week will be laid to rest on Monday next week.
Candijay Municipal Disaster and Management Office MDRRMO chief Jeryl Lacang-Fuentes on Thursday said Olano, 32, will be buried at a cemetery in the town at 1 p.m.
The family of Olano, who was a native of Candijay, was granted permission by the Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force to hold a wake at their home in Barangay Tugas considering that he did not die of COVID-19.
“Ang BIATF through Dr. Yul Lopez nag-allow sila na until May 3 kay non-COVID death man siya so nag-allow sila until Monday,” said Fuentes.
According to Lacang, PAF officials will be arriving in Bohol to attend Olano’s burial.
Fuentes said that PAF aircrafts will also be flying over Candijay until Monday as tribute to the fallen pilot.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-520 “Defender” attack helicopter which was piloted by Olano plummeted into waters off Barangay Taytay, Getafe on Monday morning while the aircraft was on an engineering flight.
His co-pilot and two other crew members survived the mishap and were taken to a hospital in Talibon then transferred to a medical facility in Lapu-Lapu City.
All three were in stable condition.
The ill-fated aircraft with tail number 410 was from the PAF’s 15th Strike Wing.
According to Fuentes, Olano died of drowning after he sustained multiple injuries during the crash.
“Bump on his head might rendered him unconscious. Cause of death is drowning. His stomach contains 500-600ml brownish liquid water. Meaning he ingested water. Had he survived, he would have needed to be brought to a hospital immediately because of the bleeding of his brain,” said Fuentes.
Olano was noted to have been among the pilots deployed during the Battle of Marawi in 2017.
He participated in the airstrikes against combined forces of the Maute Group and the Abu Sayyaf Group in what was deemed the longest urban battle in the country’s modern history. (R. Tutas)