Coast guard still looking for the missing as vessel lay half-submerged 209 miles east of the main southern island of Mindanao
This handout photo taken April 14, 2021, and received from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) April 15, a Philippine flag is displayed aboard a coast guard rubber boat as they patrol past Chinese vessels at Whitsun Reef, in the Spratly Islands. (Photo: Philippine coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)
By AFP, Manila
Two Filipino fishermen have died and seven are missing after their vessel took on water off the Philippines, the coast guard said Friday, with an open-sea search continuing.
Fourteen of the 23 crew members of the Genesis 2 were rescued by other fishing vessels shortly after the pre-dawn incident on Thursday, 337 kilometers (209 miles) east of the main southern island of Mindanao.
The body of one of the fishermen was retrieved Thursday as the vessel lay half-submerged in the Philippine Sea.
A second body was found early Friday, Dandy Orcales of the Philippine Coast Guard in Davao Oriental province, told AFP.
"We're still looking for seven (people)," Orcales said. "Five fishing vessels from their company are helping us look for them."
He said the cause of the accident was under investigation.
The fishing company is based in the southern port of General Santos city.
The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, has a poor shipping safety record, with scores dying in mishaps at sea each year, usually aboard wooden-hulled outriggers used for fishing or to move people from one small island to another.
Help us keep UCA News independent
The Church in Asia needs objective and independent journalism to speak the truth about the Church and the state.
With a network of professionally qualified journalists and editors across Asia, UCA News is just about meeting that need. But professionalism does not come cheap. We depend on you, our readers, to help maintain our independence and seek that truth.
A small donation of US$2 a month would make a big difference in our quest to achieve our goal.
Share your comments
SPECIAL EBOOKS
