175 GenSan fishermen missing

MANILA, Philippines - A total of 175 fishermen from General Santos City have been missing since Monday in waters of Davao Oriental, coast officials said Friday.

GenSan Coast Guard station commander Nelbert Aniversario said the names of the 175 missing fishermen were submitted by Salar and Rugel fishing companies. The fishermen were on board several fishing vessels, he said.

Aniversario feared that the number could rise as they are expecting other fishing companies to make similar reports to the Philippine Coast Guard's (PCG) station in the city.

He said that based on accounts of the two fishing companies, most of the unaccounted fishing vessels were already heading towards the nearest ports when the Typhoon "Pablo" caught up on them on Monday.

Citing accounts from representatives of two fishing companies, he said the missing fishing fleets were located around 115 nautical miles off the Davao Oriental seaboard when the typhoon came.

Aniversario added that the fishing fleets, which were composed of carriers, light boats and catchers, were then working on their “payaos” or fish aggregating devices in the area.

Chief Petty Officer Emmanuel Imbuido, meanwhile, said that other tuna fishing companies reportedly lost contact with their fishing fleets around 4 p.m. on Monday, a day after the typhoon hit land over Surigao.

The typhoon then was packing maximum sustained of 175 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 210 kph.

“We tracked down their given location at the vicinity of Mati area in Davao Oriental and Bislig in Surigao del Sur,” Imbuido said.

Search on

Aniversario said that two rescue vessels have been dispatched by the PCG to search and rescue the missing fishermen.

Other fishing companies have also sent search and rescue teams to assist the PCG.

The PCG has established a command post under the supervision of Commodore George Ursabia at the port of Mati City to oversee the search and rescue operations.

“We’ve been communicating with our counterparts there every four hours to get some updates and other necessary information,” Aniversario said.

On Thursday night, at least 500 people rushed to the Makar Wharf after rumors spread that a catcher vessel carrying survivors and bodies of the missing fishermen was arriving.

Aniversario said that it was a "false alarm," and that a roll-on/roll-off vessel from Cebu carrying container vans docked at the Makar Whart.

Marfenio Tan, former president of the Socsksargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries Inc. (SFFAAI), had said that that at least 300 fishermen are believed to be missing.

The Mindanao Development Authority, meanwhile, listed 28 fishing vessels with 117 crew members as still unaccounted due to the super typhoon.