Bodies of Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santhanam returned to grieving families

The bodies of two South Australian men killed in a plane crash in the Philippines have been returned back home to Adelaide.

The bodies of two South Australian men killed in a plane crash in the Philippines have been returned back home to Adelaide.

Three weeks after the tragic accident, the remains of Adelaide engineers Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santhanam were brought back to their grieving families on Friday morning, 7News reports.

The fathers were identified as two of four passengers on a Cessna RPC340 that crashed into a volcano shortly after taking off on February 18.

Authorities took 13 days to retrieve the remains from the crater of Mayon Volcano, at the boundary between the towns of Guinobatan and Camalig.

Plane crash victim Simon Chipperfield with his wife Josephine Chipperfield Picture: Supplied

The Energy Development Corporation employees, including colleagues Captain Rufino James Crisostomo Jr and crew Joel G Martin were among the dead confirmed by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong days after the crash.

In a joint statement released last month, their heartbroken families remembered Mr Chipperfield and Mr Santhanam as “deeply loved husbands, fathers, sons and brothers”.

“Our hearts are broken by our devastating loss; both had so much more to give,” the statement said.

“We are strengthened by the outpouring of love and support from around the world.”

Plane crash victim Karthi Santhanam Picture: Supplied Karthi Santhanam

Beaumont Solutions, Mr Santhanam’s employer, put out a statement soon after for their “dear friend”.

“Karthi would always talk about his wife in Adelaide and how she inspired him,” the statement said.

The statement continued by explaining Mr ­Santhanam had “incredible pride in his children” and was an “incredibly talented engineer”.