Search on for 4 missing PCG personnel off Cagayan River
Published Jul 28, 2023 08:02 am
Search and rescue operations were conducted to find the four personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) who went missing while attempting to save a crew of a distressed tugboat off Cagayan River in Aparri, Cagayan due to Super Typhoon “Egay”, authorities bared Friday, July 28.
*(Philippine Coast Guard personnel conduct search and rescue operation at Cagayan River on July 27, 2023 to find four of
**their comrades who went missing amid the onslaught of Super Typhoon Egay.
**Courtesy of PCG)
* PCG spokesperson Armando Balilo said the four personnel of PCG Station Cagayan were part of a two-team rescue group that were dispatched on July 26 to respond to motor tugboat "Iroquois" after the latter capsized due to Egay. The aluminum boat carrying the four PCG personnel also capsized while they were in the middle of the rescue operation around 4 p.m. “Two days ago, we received a report in our station in Cagayan that there was a tugboat that got stranded and was battered by waves at Puerto Aparri in Cagayan River. A rescue is needed because a crew of the tugboat suffered heart attack so we deployed two teams from the PCG,” Balilo said in a Laging Handa press briefing. “Unfortunately, one team managed to get near the tugboat but it was hit by strong waves. Their aluminum boat capsized while the other rescue team backed out. They were never seen since then as they were swept away by the waters,” he added. The four PG personnel were last seen holding onto the rescue boat before they were swallowed by the river. PCG Commandant Adm. Artemio Abu said he ordered the deployment of a helicopter from the Coast Guard Aviation Force (CGAF) to help in the search and rescue operations. The search was temporarily suspended on Friday morning due to bad weather prevailing in the area. “But they are ready to fly there,” Abu noted. Meanwhile, the PCG chief stressed that the missing personnel were trained to perform search and rescue. “They are trained of course and it is presumed they know the capacity of the aluminum boat. Siguro na-overwhelm lang (Perhaps they were just overwhelmed). The investigation will reveal the circumstances but it’s very unfortunate because they are our people,” Abu said. Meanwhile, there were no immediate update on the crew of the distressed tugboat.