A REPORT about a passenger plane that crashed in a town of Negros Occidental Thursday night has caused panic among the residents and netizens amid impending entry of typhoon Ompong in the country.
The report, which was posted on social media site Facebook, went viral online as residents and netizens, as well as media outlets, searched for answers.
It was not known where the plane crash exactly happened.
After numerous calls to authorities for verification, it was later found out that the story was a hoax.
Local authorities vehemently dismissed the said reports.
Zeaphard Gerhart Caelian, head of Negros Occidental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Division, said there's no truth about the plane crash, particularly on the southern part of Negros.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), according to Caelian, said the control tower of the Bacolod-Silay Airport has not monitored any plane crash.
"Upon our coordination with CAAP, all the aircraft were accounted for at the airports in Bacolod and in Cebu," he added.
He also called on the public to stop spreading unconfirmed reports on social media to avoid fear or panic among the residents.
Meanwhile, policemen in southern Negros Occidental also clarified there was no plane crash in the province Thursday night.