Search teams on Monday morning recovered the body of the second and last missing passenger of a jeepney that was swept away by strong river currents in Rosario, Batangas, on October 3, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.
‘At approximately 8:30 a.m…. search teams located the remains approximately 800 meters downstream from the spillway along the Pinansingin River in Sitio Kilo, Barangay Colongan,’ the PCG District Southern Tagalog said in a report.
Before resuming the search, team members met with the victim’s family at the Colongan barangay hall to discuss the systematic downstream search strategy.
Coast Guard personnel also provided aerial surveillance to support ground and river searches during the morning operation.
The tragic incident occurred at around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday when the passenger jeepney, carrying 14 people, attempted to cross a spillway over the Pinansingin River. Strong currents swept the vehicle off the crossing and completely submerged it.
Residents rescued 12 passengers, while the other two – a husband and wife – were initially reported missing.
The search team, composed of PCG personnel, local government rescuers, Army soldiers, police officers, firefighters and volunteers, earlier recovered the body of the wife on the morning of Oct. 3.
With the recovery of the husband’s body, all 14 people aboard the ill-fated jeepney have now been accounted for, the PCG said.
Local authorities are assisting in the transfer and formal turnover of the remains to the designated authorities and the bereaved family.