Capsized vessel in Occ. Mindoro yields 2 more bodies; 2 still missing

Occidental Mindoro map. INQUIRER FILES

CITY OF CALAPAN, ORIENTAL MINDORO, Philippines — Two more bodies were recovered on Easter Sunday, April 20, from the capsized sand carrier MV Hong Hai 16, which is still half-submerged in the waters off Rizal town in Occidental Mindoro, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Southern Tagalog District.

This brings the number of deaths to nine, with two other crew members still missing. Twenty-five Filipino and Chinese crew members were on board when the vessel capsized off the shores of Barangay (village) Malawaan on Tuesday afternoon (April 15).

READ: Occidental Mindoro capsized vessel: Death toll rises to 6, 5 still missing

The first dive was at 9:17 a.m. which led to the recovery of one body at the cargo hold number 1, while the second dive was at 3:10 p.m. which led the PCG to another body in the cargo hold monitoring control room.

The PCG continues its search, recovery, and environmental monitoring operations in coordination with other concerned agencies, said a report on the social media page of to Coast Guard District Southern Tagalog.

The PCG also said the Marine Environmental Protection Enforcement Response Group Southern Tagalog personnel assisted the Provincial Environmental Management Unit (PEMU) of San Jose in conducting water sampling at three strategic points along the shoreline of Barangay Malawaan to assess potential environmental impacts of the incident.

Initial surface monitoring operations conducted by the PCG reported no visible signs of an oil spill in the vicinity of the capsized vessel.

The Special Operations Group–Southern Tagalog and technical wreck divers from the Coast Guard Special Operations Force conducted the joint diving operations to find the bodies of the missing crew men.

Identification of the recovered individuals remains pending. The names of the deceased will be released upon notification of their next of kin.