SAN JOSE, Antique – Search and rescue operation (SAR) is currently ongoing for four fishermen reported missing by their families to the Antique Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
PCG Antique station commander Lieutenant Commander Noel Ramos said the missing fishermen were Ruben Beso Sr., 51, and his crew John Lauren Beso and John Avillana from Anini-y town. They went missing on Jan. 9.
The fourth missing fisherman is 25-year-old Junnel Aguirre last seen on board a wooden-hulled boat on Jan. 14, about five to six miles away from the shoreline of Barangay San Pedro here.
“Aguirre’s boat could have capsized because of the huge waves,” Ramos said.
He said that due to huge waves, they requested the PCG Western Visayas based in Iloilo City to send a bigger rescue sea vessel to assist in their SAR operation.
“Aguirre’s boat was likely swept towards Cagayancillo or Cuyo Island in Palawan, which is about 45 miles away from San Pedro,” said Ramos.
The three other fishermen from Anini-y could also have been swept towards Palawan by huge waves triggered by the ongoing northeast monsoon season.
“The station was informed by Allen Rose Beso of Barangay Sagua, Anini-y about the three missing fishermen onboard the fishing boat ‘Den Carl’ after they failed to return on Jan. 9,” Ramos said.
PCG Antique already coordinated with the PCG Station in Cagayancillo about the missing fishermen. (Annabel Consuelo Petinglay, PNA/PN)
