ZAMBOANGA CITY – Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) technical divers involved in search and retrieval operations entered the sunken M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 off the waters of Basilan early Wednesday and recovered two bodies.
“The two bodies, both male, have now been transferred to BRP Tubbataha and will be transported to Zamboanga City,” Commodore Rejard Marfe, commander of the Coast Guard District Southwestern Mindanao (CGDSWM), said in a statement.
M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 sank on Jan. 26, about 2.75 nautical miles northeast of Baluk-Baluk Island, Hadji Muhtamad, Basilan.
Hadji Muhtamad Mayor Arsina Nanoh posted online Wednesday that two bodies were found inside the ship, reportedly hanging from the railings.
The Basilan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) said the two cadavers were retrieved around 10:33 a.m.
On Tuesday, the PCG confirmed the location of the sunken M/V Trisha Kerstin during a dive operation off Baluk-Baluk Island.
Commander Cheska Jamorol, head of the PCG Technical Diving Group, said the vessel is lying in an east-to-west orientation relative to Baluk-Baluk Island.
The vessel sank while sailing from Zamboanga City to Jolo, Sulu, at the time of the maritime incident. It is owned by Aleson Shipping Lines, a Zamboanga City-based company.
The death toll of the M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 sinking increased to 45 with the recovery on Wednesday of the two cadavers, according to the Basilan PDRRMO.
The PDRRMO said the two cadavers will undergo identification procedures as both are still unidentified. (PNA)