Troops rescue 7 in sinking boats

ZAMBOANGA CITY—At least seven people, including two children, were saved from harm when soldiers from the 2nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade conducted an open sea rescue operation in Lanao del Norte, Brig. Gen. Daniel Lucero, head of the military’s 1st Infantry Division, said on Saturday.

Lucero said the boats that the victims were riding capsized during the Hugyaw sa Kadagatan (Feast of the Seas), an annual festival in Kauswagan town, on April 24. There were several other boats at sea when the incident took place and the people onboard alerted authorities about the sinking of two boats.

Lucero said the 2nd Mechanized Brigade’s Disaster Response and Rescue Operation (DRRO) team based in Maria Cristina in Iligan City, which is near Kauswagan, was immediately dispatched for rescue work.

Among those rescued were two children aged 2 and 4, Lucero said, as he commended the DRRO, headed by Sgt. Cristituto Ripalda, for “their actions that manifested the willingness of every Tabak troopers to risk even their own lives just to save other lives.”

“We are always ready to extend our help anytime,” Lucero said. Julie Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao