Search continues for 33 missing fishers in Luzon

LUCENA CITY, QUEZON, Philippines – Authorities on Sunday said that they were still searching for 33 fishers from Quezon and Camarines Norte who went missing amid stormy weather days after Tropical Storm Enteng (international name: Yagi) devastated Luzon and parts of the Visayas at the start of this month.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in northern Quezon said Noreen Soronel, owner of FBCA Zshan, reported to their station last Wednesday that she had lost contact with the fishing vessel and its 15-man crew on Tuesday, September 3. Soronel told the PCG that the boat left Quezon’s town of Infanta for a fishing expedition in the Pacific Ocean on August 18. READ: Storm Enteng leaves fisherman dead, 14 missing in Camarines Norte

“Enteng” entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility on September 1 and exited early on September 4, causing widespread floods in some parts of Metro Manila and Calabarzon and in Northern Luzon and the Bicol regions.

During the onslaught of “Enteng,” Soronel told the PCG she had advised the boat skipper to seek shelter in Barangay Calutcot of Burdeos town on Polillo Island to avoid the storm’s impact. Her last communication with the skipper was on September 2.

A report on Saturday from the PCG-District Southern Tagalog (PCG-DST) said local fishers in Palanan in Isabela, a coastal town over 600 kilometers from Infanta, reported seeing the partially submerged F/Bca Zshan in its water. However, no one among its crew was found after a thorough search in the vicinity.

“Despite deploying a drone, no sightings of the missing individuals were detected,” the PCG-DST said.

Commodore Geronimo Tuvilla, PCG-DST commander, assured the families of the missing fishermen that all available resources were being utilized to locate and rescue their loved ones.

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Tuvilla urged the public to remain vigilant and immediately report to the authorities any sightings or information on the missing fishers.

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Fisher dead

On Thursday, the Quezon provincial police reported that another fishing boat, RODA 1, which was from the coastal town of Perez and had four fishers on board, was also missing.

The boat left Perez on August 28 for a fishing venture in the waters off Polillo island in the Pacific Ocean but did not return. In Bicol, the search was also ongoing for 14 fishermen from Camarines Norte who went missing before “Enteng” was declared a tropical cyclone by the state weather bureau on September 1, according to Gremil Alexis Naz, Office of Civil Defense Bicol spokesperson, on Sunday.

The 15th fisherman, a 48-year-old resident of Jose Panganiban town, was confirmed dead after his body was found in Vinzons town on September 3 by the PCG.

According to the Camarines Norte Operation Center, the fishermen were reported missing on September 2. —with reports from Rey Anthony Ostria and Ma. April Mier-Manjares