Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 3) — The Philippine Coast Guard on Friday ended its rescue operations for the 14 Filipinos who remain missing after their boat collided last week with a Hong Kong-registered bulk carrier in Occidental Mindoro.
PCG shifted to a search and retrieval operation, an indication of fading hopes of finding alive the 12 fishermen and passengers of fishing vessel Liberty 5. The operation is set to end on Sunday, but officials will determine if there is a need to extend the search.
“Usually ho kasi, after three full days of search and rescue operations, kapag wala pa rin tayong naililigtas, nag-shi-shift na tayo sa search and retrieval. Pero hindi naman tayo nawawalan ng pag-asa. Miracle is reality. May posibilidad pa rin na buhay pa sila,” PCG said as it shared snippets of Commandant Vice Admiral George Usabia Jr’s media interview.
[Translation: Usually after three days of search and rescue and it’s unsuccessful, we shift to search and retrieval. But we remain hopeful. A miracle is possible. It’s still possible we may find them alive.]
Hong Kong-flagged M/V Vienna Wood collided with Liberty 5 several times in the vicinity of Occidental Mindoro around 10:20 pm of June 27.
Ursabia said that based on initial investigation, the 20 foreign crew members of Vienna Wood failed to conduct any immediate rescue or assistance to the Filipino group, which is required under maritime law. He added PCG received the distress call from Vienna Wood via email three hours after the incident. He said the time frame would have been crucial in the rescue of the 14 Filipinos.
PCG said it has finished its investigation on the foreign crew and it is now “building up pieces of evidence” to file criminal charges against the Vienna Wood crew members.
Ursabia earlier said the Vienna Wood mariners did not abandon the Filipinos after the collision, explaining that the bulk carrier moved away from the incident area after seeing seven small fishing vessels helping the capsized Filipino boat.
“They have done their part,” the official said in media briefing on Tuesday. “I would say 50 percent of what they’re expected to do.”
