Jesse Robredo, Philippines interior minister, missing after plane crash

Jesse Robredo, the Philippines Interior Minister, has disappeared following a plane crash. 

The small four-seat, twin-engine Piper Seneca plane Robredo was traveling in crashed into the sea off the Philippines' central Masbate province while attempting an emergency landing, BBC News reported. 

Two other people have also been declared missing. 

Robredo was on his way home to Naga City when the plane experienced technical trouble. The pilot planned a landing at Masbate, but the plane did not make it, and crashed, according to CNN. 

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Robredo’s aide Senior Inspector Jun Abrazado, who was also on board, had reportedly been rescued from the crash area by local fishermen, the Philippine Star reported. There were no immediate reports of casualties. 

Police had stopped the search Saturday night due to darkness. The plane's wreckage has also not been found, BBC News reported. 

The Philippine government accepted an offer from the US military attache to send an American team based on the islands to help in the search and rescue, according to the Associated Press. 

Robredo is one of President Benigno Aquino III's closest allies in the Cabinet, and helped his election campaign in 2010, according to the AP. He graduated from Harvard University's  John F. Kennedy School of Government, CNN reported.