PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines -- The military’s Western Command said Saturday it has deployed a gunboat and four smaller vessels from Linapacan and Coron towns in northern Palawan to join in the search for five people reported missing after
the boat sank off Linapacan at around 9:40 a.m. Friday.

"The Task Force Malampaya is coordinating the search and we have a gunboat and several fishing boats in the area," said Commodore Ruperto Rico Borromeo, Western Command chief.

The five missing people, including three Napocor employees, were feared to have drowned, according to a Philippine Daily Inquirer informant.

John Galit, a consultant working on projects of the Department of Tourism and local governments based in Coron who coordinated with local officials in the launching of a search and rescue mission, identified the missing as Eric Capampangan, Elma Faviano, Recto Magalona, Henry Sumanting and Jerry Castolo.

The boat M/V Rheann was reportedly ferrying a set of Napocor dynamo en route to Coron with its passengers when it was swamped by huge waves some 40 nautical miles southeast of Linapacan municipality.

Galit said one of the passengers was able to send a distress call to the owner of the boat, Councilor Henry Liao of Coron, who in turn sought assistance from the Wescom.

An initial search launched late during the day by two choppers of the Wescom failed to find any survivors.

Galit said the families of the missing passengers had converged inside the San Miguel parish in Linapacan waiting for information about the missing vessel.