Death from sunken dredging vessel rises to 7

THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) announced the recovery of more bodies from the sunken dredging vessel MV Hong Hai off the coast of Rizal, Occidental Mindoro, bringing the total of recovered bodies to 7, as of this writing.

In a statement, the PCG said its divers retrieved one body on Black Saturday and two more bodies on Good Friday.

Following the incident, the PCG said the death toll was initially placed at four and the number of survivors at 14 while seven crew members were missing.

The vessel was reportedly carrying over 7,000 cubic meters of sand when it sunk in the vicinity of Bgy. Malawaan, Rizal, on April 15.

The PCG added recovered personal belongings and other documents from the vessel would aid in the identification of the victims and in their investigation.

The vessel is registered in the name of Keen Peak Corporation manned by 13 Filipinos and 12 Chinese crews when the tragedy struck.

A composite team from the PCG, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police Maritime Group (PNP-MG) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) was immediately formed to conduct search and rescue operation.

The PCG vowed to continue with the operation until all the missing have been accounted for.