Philippine Coast Guard, partners find missing crew of grounded cargo vessel

The Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine National Police Maritime Group, and other local partners have rescued seven of the 20 crewmen who were initially reported missing following a vessel grounding incident on Monday, April 19.

The chief officer and six other crewmen of the nickel ore carrier Cebu Great Ocean were found ashore at separate points along the coastline of Surigao del Norte province after their vessel ran aground at the town of Malimono at 15:38 local time on Monday.

The coast guard said local residents found the seventh and last survivor at 06:19 on Wednesday, April 21. All seven survivors have been brought to various hospitals for treatment.

Coast guard and police personnel as well as other local residents have also recovered four bodies along the coastline. The deceased have all been identified by the coast guard as crewmen from the grounded vessel.

An earlier report had stated that Cebu Great Ocean's crew were nowhere to be found in the hours immediately after the grounding.

The search effort for the missing sailors was suspended at 19:30 on Monday due to poor weather conditions and was resumed 24 hours later.

The coast guard said the search for the nine remaining crewmen is still ongoing as investigators seek to determine the events that led to the grounding.

Editor's Note: This news story was updated at 13:38 UTC on Wednesday, April 21, after local news reports in Manila confirmed that the body of a fourth crewman from Cebu Great Ocean was recovered earlier that day.