2 fishermen still missing

By Mar S. Arguelles LEGAZPI CITY --- Two fishermen remain missing as search and rescue operations are still ongoing, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol said yesterday (Nov. 1). OCD Regional Director Claudio Yucot, quoting a report from the Bato town disaster council in Catanduanes, said the missing fishermen were identified as Allan and Albert, both surnamed Pantino, residents of Barangay Pinanaogan, Bato, Catanduanes. The two missing fishermen, according to the report, were among a group of fishermen who went fishing off the waters of Bato town when gale warning was threatening Bicol’s eastern seaboard. The report said that one of the 7 bancas from Barangay Pinanaogan, Bato that went out fishing at about 11:20 p.m. Tuesday, one of the wooden boats capsized due to string waves, although all of the passengers of that boat were rescued. But another boat with two fishermen on board failed to be accounted for, which is now the subject of the search and rescue operation. Meanwhile, the OCD said the incidents of flooding were reported on Tuesday in the towns of Baao, Garchitorena, Balatan, Caramoan, Lagonoy and Iriga City, all in the province of Camarines Sur. In Camarines Norte, flooding and landslides were reported in the town of Labo and Mercedes. Thirteen families, or 59 persons, were safely brought to two evacuation centers.