13 fishermen missing after boat sinks near Bajo de Masinloc — PCG

MANILA, Philippines — Thirteen fishermen are currently missing after their boat sank near Bajo de Masinloc in Zambales last week, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Wednesday.

The PCG Spokesperson Capt. Armand Balilo said the Coast Guard is conducting search and rescue operations for the missing fishermen of the sunken “FFB Three Sister.”

The boat reportedly sank last Nov. 7 (Thursday) at 3 a.m. about 70 nautical miles from Reed Bank. Strong winds and big waves brought about by Tropical Cyclone “Quiel” reportedly caused the sinking.

The fishermen were supposedly bound for Brgy. Sisiman in Mariveles, Bataan when the incident happened, the PCG said.

Four days after the incident, a fisherman identified as Angelito Epetito Jr. was found drifting afloat using a plastic container along Bajo de Masinloc.

The PCG explained that its personnel in Bataan only received a report about the incident on Nov. 11, after which they immediately deployed a team to rescue the other fishermen.

The rescued fishermen said that he was separated from his colleagues and were unable to regroup with them.

As of Wednesday, three floating assets of the PCG are deployed to search and save the lives of the 13 missing men, the Coast Guard said.

It added that it is set to coordinate with the Chinese Coast Guard to seek information on the whereabouts of the missing fishermen. /jpv