Philippine Air Force personnel from the 505th Squadron rescue residents trapped for five days near the peak of Mt. Apo in Sitio Kapatagan of Barangay Luayon in earthquake-stricken Makilala town of North Cotabato on Nov. 3, 2019. |PIA Photo/Danilo Doguiles
CAGAYAN DE ORO—This is a daring rescue worthy of retelling as many times as possible.
A Philippine Air Force Huey helicopter belonging to the 505th Search and Rescue Group plucked 15 residents whose village was about to collapse on the North Cotabato side of Mount Apo on Sunday, November 3, 2019.
A photographer from the Philippine Information Agency, Danilo Doquiles, was aboard another Air Force helicopter involved in the rescue operation and was able to document the daring rescue.
“I never can imagine the bravery and skill of the pilots. They just land their helicopter even if the ground they landed on was about to collapse,” Doquiles narrated.
Doquiles said the white helicopter rescued 15 residents of Sitio Kapatagan, including a 82-year-old woman and three children, on Sunday morning.
He said the helicopter landed twice on the rocky precipice that was about to collapse.
“The pilots never lost their nerve. All they did was hover their aircraft and rescued the residents,” Doquiles said.
All that time, Doquiles said he was also conscious that rocky precipice would collapse under the weight of the Huey helicopter.
“It was a scary situation but I continue to document everything with my Sony A6000 camera,” he said.
It was only after the rescue was a success that he was able to heave a sigh of relief.
Philippine Air Force personnel from the PAF 505th Squadron rescue residents trapped for five days near the peak of Mt. Apo in Sitio Kapatagan of Barangay Luayon in earthquake-stricken Makilala town of North Cotabato on Nov. 3, 2019. |PIA Photo/Danilo Doguiles
Doquiles said the events leading to the rescue began last Saturday when the North Cotabato Disaster Risk Reduction Management Center received word that there were residents still trapped in Sitio Kapatagan, Barangay Luayon in Makilala town.
He said the Philippine Air Force helicopter from the 505th Squadron happened to be delivering some food on Saturday to the Makilala residents who have run out of food since Oct. 29.
Sitio Kapatagan nestles near the top of the 2,964-meter high Mount Apo.
“We learned that the residents have been trapped in the mountains since the Oct. 29 earthquake,” Doquiles said.
He said a team of soldiers hiked overnight to reach the village on Sunday morning.
Doquiles said the two helicopters lifted off from the Makilala town proper at 10 a.m. on Sunday to rescue the residents.
“We found the residents already resigned that they would die on the mountains. They have earlier buried two of their neighbors already,” he said.
Doquiles said the rescue operation went on smoothly even if the winds started to pick up by Sunday noon.
He said all of the stranded residents were airlifted by 12 noon to the North Cotabato provincial capitol in barangay Amas, Kidapawan City./elb