Two crew members died while seven others went missing when a fishing boat sank off the waters of Baganga, Davao Oriental on Thursday, June 22.
(Photo by PCG)
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said fishing boat “Genesis 2” encountered a “sudden change in the sea condition” while sailing around 12 midnight which caused half of the vessel to sink 182 nautical miles off Baganga an hour later.
It was steered by boat captain Allan Donaire.
Based on the crew manifest, Genesis 2 had 23 Filipino crew members onboard when it was suddenly hit by big waves.
Of this, two crew members died: the remains of the first fatality were found on Thursday by responding fishermen while the body of the other one was retrieved around 7:30 a.m. on Friday, June 23, by personnel of the PCG Station Davao Oriental.
Fourteen others were also rescued while search and rescue (SAR) operations were ongoing to find the missing seven crew members.
The distressed fishing boat is owned by OGDI Fishing Company based in General Santos City, the PCG said.
“The concerned fishing company also deployed its fleet to augment the SAR operations,” the PCG added.