A K-9 team that specializes in search and rescue operations was deployed to Toledo City in Cebu Tuesday following a landslide at a mining pit, the Philippine Coast Guard said.
Commodore Nelson Torre, commander of the Coast Guard K9 Force, said they initially dispatched one K9 team composed of four personnel and two working dogs to assist the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) in responding to the incident.
According to Commodore Armand Balilo, Coast Guard spokesman, the initial deployment will assess the situation whether an additional K-9 team is needed or not.
“We have several SAR (search and rescue) K9 teams on standby in Manila for further deployment, if necessary. We are already coordinating the issuance of their health clearances so they may safely and swiftly travel to Cebu right after augmentation request from the CDRRMO,” Torre said.
“Upon coordination by the Coast Guard Station Cebu, additional K9 teams from the Coast Guard District Eastern Visayas are expected to arrive in Toledo City tonight,” Torre added.
If the agency decided to deploy teams from Manila, Balilo said they will need to comply with health protocols enforced by the local government of Cebu “but it will be easy to deploy them onboard the Coast Guard’s islander from Manila.”
The Coast Guard SAR K9 is one of the recent additions in the Coast Guard K9 Detection Specialties. The first deployment of the K9 teams for search and rescue was in September 2018 to aid with operations after a landslide at a quarry site in Naga City, Cebu that reported 15 casualties and dozens of trapped workers and residents.