PCG searches for passenger who fell from cargo vessel in Batangas

A 26-year-old man fell overboard from a cargo-passenger vessel in Batangas on Tuesday, Oct. 31, triggering search and rescue operations by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
The PCG identified the missing passenger as Ralph Bernard Gerona, a resident of Iloilo City.
Gerona was onboard MV Maligaya when he allegedly fell from the vessel at the vicinity waters of Calatagan around 3:50 p.m.
MV Maligaya is a passenger vessel owned by 2GO Shipping Corporation which has a gross tonnage of 29.05 and net tonnage of 12.56.
It was enroute from Manila to Bacolod, and had 126 crew members and 425 passengers onboard when the incident occurred, the PCG said.
The PCG said it alerted the Vessel Traffic Management Service (VTMS)-Corregidor operator regarding the man overboard incident.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard Sub Station (CGSS) Calatagan initiated search and rescue operations immediately, involving coordination with VTMS Batangas, Sea Marshall personnel onboard MV Maligaya, and CGSS Lubang.
Transiting vessels in the vicinity, including MV Solid Sun, also assisted in the search efforts, the PCG noted.
"Despite extensive efforts, the victim was not located due to poor visibility, leading to the termination of the search operation at 6:20 p.m.," the PCG said.
Search operations continued to locate Gerona, the PCG added.