1 missing, 2 rescued after pump boat capsizes in Camotes Island

File photo: A motorized wooden boat (locally known as pump boat) ferries passengers between islands in northern Cebu. | CDN Digital photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Unmindful of the bad weather, three men travelled by sea early on Tuesday morning, October 22, from Ormoc City in Leyte to Pilar town in Camotes Island to visit a relative.

But their pump boat capsized shortly before they reached their destination.

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One of the travelers, who was identified as Rodolfo Añasco Villar, went missing.  The two others – Jessie Kwako Añasco, 31, and Junrex Lanugan, 19, – managed to swim to the shorelines of Pilar town.

Police Staff Sergeant Rene Arquillano, desk officer of Pilar Police Station, said that the three men were from Brgy. Naungan in Ormoc City.

Two rescued

The Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) first reported the rescue of two men from the waters of Pilar town.

READ: Six rescued after pump boat capsizes in Sibonga, Cebu due to storm surge

In a separate interview, Arquillano said that the two men had a companion who remains missing.

He said that that the three men left Ormoc City early on Tuesday morning to travel to Brgy. San Juan in Pilar town to visit a relative.

But, they experience engine malfunction shortly before they reached their destination.

The police officer said that huge waves also pummeled their pump boat as it started to rain, causing it to capsize at around 2 a.m.

As of this writing, Añasco and Lanugan were safe and staying with relatives in Brgy. San Juan.

Pilar police, in coordination with the Philippine Coast Guard, are conducting search and rescue operation with hopes of finding Villar alive.

Arquillano said that they are also verifying reports on the discovery of a body on the waters of Ormoc City.