The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Western Visayas has ended the search and retrieval operations on the fishing vessel from Negros Occidental that sank off the coast of Iloilo, following the recovery of the bodies of seven of the nine missing fishermen.
Coast Guard commander Jansen Benjamin, PCG-Western Visayas district chief of staff, yesterday said they have already located the remains of Julian Dungog amid the wreckage that was found 44 meters deep from the water surface.
Benjamin, however, said the remains cannot be extricated because the body was trapped inside the inner compartment that was covered with debris.
Forcibly recovering the remains will endanger the lives of the divers, he added.
Benjamin said it was decided that the remains will only be removed as soon as the owner of the fishing vessel ordered the conduct of salvage operations.
Twenty-two of the 31 crew members survived after F/V St. Peter the Fisherman II capsized Friday off the coast of Gigantes Island of Carles town in Iloilo.
The PCG is still looking for the last missing fisherman, identified as Manuel Auditor. – GB
