MANILA, Philippines - The remains of the four foreign tourists who died in the Mayon Volcano's ash eruption on Tuesday are set to be airlifted to Manila on Friday, the state disaster response agency said.
In an update on Friday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the bodies of the four had been brought to a local funeral parlor, while the remains of Filipino tour guide Jerome Berin were brought to his home for a wake.
The foreign fatalities were two German men, a German woman, and a female Spaniard residing in Germany, according to the NDRRMC.
The remains of the five fatalities had been brought down to the tactical operations group from the volcano by two Philippine Air Force (PAF) helicopters at 1:40 p.m. Thursday.
Meanwhile, a composite team with injured Thai climber Boonchai Jattupompong is trying to "slowly but safely" transport the victim through steep and unstable terrain toward lower grounds and an open area.
A PAF helicopter can then extricate the injured climber.
The Thai climber was initially reported as missing but was successfully rescued alive on Wednesday.
Related story: Missing Thai national after Mayon explosion found alive
At 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Mayon Volcano produced a "phreatic" or steam-driven explosion, spewing ash and gray to brown clouds reaching 500 meters above its summit.
The NDRRMC reported that there were a total of 21 multi-national tourists and local climbers within the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone of the iconic volcano.
Aside from the five fatalities, there were also nine people injured due to incident while seven were unharmed.