Searchers Find Two More Bodies;
One Person Still Missing
By sea and land, the search operations will continue through the weekend to find the last person who still missing following the plane crash on Tuesday, when the small Cessna 206 aircraft with six people on board - the pilot and five skydivers - crashed into the Pacific ocean.

Within 24 hours of the crash, one survivor was rescued and three bodies have so far been recovered - two on Thursday and one washed up on the Playa Hermosa shores yesterday.

The only survivor so far is William Slattery who was released from hospital on Tuesday and was back in his hotel room yesterday, like everyone else, waiting on the news of his fellow skydivers.

According to rescue workers, this is perhaps the biggest search and rescue operation in the last couple of years, where more than 200 persons are involved from the Red Cross, Fuerza Publica, Coastguard and the Comisión Nacional de Emergencias (national commission on emergencies).

Two helicopters and four small planes are also being used for the search and rescue efforts, with the hopes of finding more survivors.

This week's crash is the second crash of a small plane in less than a week. A week ago Friday a small Cessna crashed into a mountain peak near Puriscal, killing all three on board.

Unfavourable climate conditions is being blamed in both accidents. The pilots of the two small planes were experienced pilots according to Aviacion Civil officials and ruling out mechanical failure, weather conditions is the probable cause in both accidents.

An investigation into what actually happened is underway and it may be some time before the results are known.

Authorities have identified the bodies recovered so far.

On Thursday at 10:30am, some 14.7 kilometres from the Bahía Los Sueños, near Isla Tortuga, the body of Milton Burton, the Canadian-born skydiver and owner of Skydive Costa Rica. Also Thursday the body of Emanuel Sánchez Cornejo was recovered at 1pm, some 14.8 kilometres off the coast.

On Friday the body of James Simplicio washed up on the shores of Playa Hermosa, a short distance south of Jacó beach. The discovery was made around 3:30am. And at 2:50pm another body was found, authorities believe it to be body of Jean Roman, though no positive identification was released.

The only one still missing is pilotJorge Arturo Meléndez, who rescue workers hope to find him alive.