Hopes dim for missing fishermen

SAN FERNANDO CITY — Hopes have dimmed for the eight Ilocos Sur fishermen who went missing in the South China Sea as search and rescue operations in the past four days have yielded no results.

Nigel Lontoc, director of the Ilocos Regional Disaster Coordinating Council, told The STAR that the joint search and rescue effort of the Coast Guard and Navy personnel based in Poro Point here has been extended up to the coast of Cagayan Valley.

The Coast Guard has dispatched a highlander plane from Manila, while the Naval Forces North has deployed a bigger vessel to scour the South China Sea where big waves and strong winds battered the fishermen’s boat.

"The search was extended up to Tuguegarao City (Cagayan) because there are bigger waves there that could have (swept) them. If the fishing boat settled on an island, it is possible that there are survivors. But if not, I suspect they are already dead," Lontoc said.

He said the rescuers are having a hard time because of the rough seas.

Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson, who joined the rescue operation, said they went as far as 60 kilometers from the coast of Barangay Poro in Magsingal town, where the fishermen hail from, "but we did not see anybody."

"It was really chaotic out there. We saw a passing ship being buffeted by strong waves in the high seas," he said. — With Teddy Molina