TUGUEGARAO CITY — An engine-powered fishing boat with seven passengers has gone missing after leaving a port in Claveria town, Cagayan, on Wednesday morning.
The Philippine Coast Guard-Northeastern Luzon said on Friday that the four-engine MV Ren Zen 2 fishing boat left at 4:30 in the morning on Jan. 15 and was supposed to arrive along the shores of Barangay Dilam in Calayan, Cagayan after five hours. However, the boat, or 'lampitaw,' did not arrive.
The PCG authorities and the relatives could not contact anyone of the passengers.
The PCG said that one of the seven occupants is PCG member Francisco Maday. The other occupants are Sammy Suarez, Regie Erial, Joel Nanay, Rolando Hidalgo, Benjamin Gutierrez and Ernesto Duerme.
A relative of the missing passengers named Reymalyn Mariano said they contacted villagers along Fuga in Aparri and other sites where they may possibly be moored or supposedly take shelter.
However, Mariano said no sightings were reportedly seen.
According to personnel of the Cagayan Provincial Information Office (CPIO), they continue to communicate with the authorities for additional details of the missing boat.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Air Force-Tactical Operations Group 2 (PAF-TOG2) said it will conduct an aerial search and rescue on the northern Luzon coasts to search for the missing boat.
In an emergency meeting led by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Region 2, Col. Glen Piquero of PAF-TOG 2 noted that they are just waiting for the 'flight directive' to start their search and rescue.
According to Piquero, their team may make the preposition or prepare to fly to Laoag City due to weather conditions in the province, even in Isabela.
The group also showed the places where their group could rotate which include the coasts of Dalupiri, Fuga, Pagudpud, Bangui, Pasuquin, Bacarra and other coasts in Ilocos Norte.
The local government of Calayan is looking at several scenarios that may have happened to the said boat and why it did not reach Dilam.
Calayan Mayor Joseph Llopis said that the boat may have crashed into something because the area was still dark when it left the town of Claveria and it is also possible that it went to another direction and passed the island of Calayan.
He said the weather at that time was good because the Eagle Ferry was still able to sail at 7:00 a.m. but in the afternoon, the weather turned rough with high waves.
The PCG has also conducted a search and rescue in one of the three areas Dalupiri Island where the missing boat may have gone to, but failed to find the said boat and the its occupants.
The PCG explained that the said three places in Dalupiri are where sailors coming from Claveria often stay.
LGU Calayan and the Cagayan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office continue to coordinate with the coastal municipalities to find the missing boat.