A search and rescue operation to locate at least 11 missing recreational divers and crew whose boat capsized is being conducted by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) off the province of Davao Oriental on the southern island of Mindanao.
The PCG reported that its vessel BRP Malamawi had been deployed in the southern part of the Davao Gulf in a bid to find the missing divers. Officials believe that they could still be holding onto the overturned hull of their dive-boat.
The divers had left to visit a dive-site from the municipality of Governor Generoso at around 1pm today (19 January) onboard a timber motor banca or outrigger boat identified as MBCA Amejara.
Later in the afternoon, the Coast Guard in Governor Generoso received a mobile-phone message reporting that the boat had capsized. At that time the divers had been clinging onto the hull.
“We are still searching the general area where we received the mobile-phone message from the divers,” a Coast Guard officer told MindaNews. Other local divers spoke of their belief that currents could be driving the banca west towards the other side of the Davao Gulf, and further unconfirmed reports stated that there had been 15 people on the boat, including the captain and crew.
Mindanao does not attract a great deal of international tourism, though the municipal government and local operators in Governor Generoso have been developing scuba diving as a tourist attraction in recent years, with at least 14 dive-sites identified in local waters.
