ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – The Philippine Navy in Tawi-Tawi continues its search operations to verify the reported sighting of a wreckage believed to be that of the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, said Navy vessels were dispatched to Sugbay Island of South Ubian town where the wreckage was reportedly seen.
Guerrero said Lt. Col. Leo Frincillo, the acting commander of the Joint Task Group Tawi-Tawi, reported Monday that the police in Sugbay Island have no information about the wreckage.
Guerrero said the search has reached nearby Languyan town.
“The barangay captain of Tumbagaan (in Languyan) likewise reported negative information,” Guerrero said.
“A navy vessel patrol gun boat conducted search operations in coordination with local fishermen also found no sign or indication,” he added.
For as long as there is no clear visual of the reported wreckage, “we consider this as false alarm,” according to Navy Commander Roy Vincent Trinidad, the chief of staff of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao.
“But confirmation effort is ongoing in the area. As we speak right now, there is nothing solid to say about this,” Trinidad said.
Both Guerrero and Trinidad directed Navy personnel to locate the fishermen or bird hunters who were supposed to have seen and got close near the wreckage.
A report from the The Star/Asia News Network said the police in Sabah, a state in Malaysia, received a report claiming that an aircraft wreckage with the Malaysian flag painted on it was found on Ubian Island.
Guerrero said they have not located the source of the story.
The Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, with 239 crew and passengers, was enroute to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur when it disappeared in March. SFM