Bodies of 2 workers recovered from flooded MWSS tunnel project

Flood spawned by recent heavy rain reportedly flooded a tunnel project of the MWSS in General Nakar, Quezon, killing one. Rescuers have found the bodies of two workers on Monday and Tuesday. Four are still missing. GOOGLE MAPS

LUCENA CITY, Philippines — Rescuers have recovered the bodies of two workers from a flood-hit tunnel project of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) in General Nakar town, Quezon province, a disaster response official said.

Henry Buzar, of the Quezon Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC), said the body of David Guiagui Jr. was retrieved on Monday while that of Simion Sig-od was found early Tuesday.

READ: 1 dead, 5 missing as flood hits MWSS tunnel in Quezon

Four other workers — Roland Sanchez, Danny Harnois, Ferdie Sanadan and Zenith Picat — remain missing and are believed trapped inside the tunnel.

They were employed by the Cavite Ideal International Construction, which is working on a P717-million Sumag River diversion project of the MWSS.

Erberto Astrera, General Nakar DRRMC officer, said Picat was added to the list of missing workers based on an updated report of the MWSS.

Astrera said search and rescue operations by miners from Philex Mining Corp., divers and Army soldiers were ongoing as of Tuesday morning.

On August 13, floodwater spawned by heavy monsoon rain submerged the project site at the foot of the Sierra Madre mountain range in General Nakar.

The project involves the construction of a 600-meter tunnel that would be connected to the Umiray-Angat transbasin tunnel that leads to Angat Dam in Bulacan./rga