Search and retrieval ops for 14 missing in Occidental Mindoro continue

Families and relatives cry during prayer vigil on July 1, 2o20 at Irma Fishing and Trading Inc in Malabon for 12 fishermen and two passengers who went missing after their fishing boat Liberty 5 collided with the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship Vienna Wood and sank in waters off Mamburao in Occidental Mindoro. They call for Philippine Coastguard not to stop the search and rescue operation.
RICHARD A. REYES FILE PHOTO/ INQUIRER

MANILA, Philippines — Search and retrieval (SAR) operations for fourteen missing persons continued in Occidental Mindoro on Sunday, a week after a Filipino fishing vessel collided with Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship MV Vienna Wood.

The Philippine Coast Guard said Sunday its search and retrieval team Mamburao is on the waters off Tayamaan, Mamburao.

Meanwhile, BFP Boracay was in the waters off Binaybay Shoreline, Paluan Bay in Occidental Mindoro.

“SAR will be extended until Tuesday, July 7,” PCG spokesman Commodore Armando Balilo said in a text message to reporters.

Two other PCG vessels, Coast Guard Sub-station in Sablayan and Coast Guard Sub-station in Abra de Ilog, are preparing to augment the ongoing search operations.

The Philippine Air Force is also set to continue conducting aerial surveillance.

The Philippine National Police will likewise deploy its personnel from its Maritime Group  to conduct seaborne patrol, PCG said.

Fourteen people went missing after a local fishing boat collided with a Hong Kong-flagged cargo vessel and sank off the coast of Mamburao town in Occidental Mindoro province last week Sunday.

The 45-meter local fishing vessel Liberty 5 was headed for Navotas, Metro Manila, from Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi when it collided with the cargo vessel Vienna Wood around 1 a.m. on Sunday off Barangay Tayamaan in Mamburao.

Balilo said initial investigation showed the collision occurred due to “rough seas.”

JE