MANILA, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Saturday announced the recovery of five bodies from a recreational motorboat that went missing earlier this week in waters off Davao Oriental province in the southern Philippines.
The bodies were found in separate locations during ongoing search-and-rescue operations, according to Coast Guard District Southeastern Mindanao, noting that one of the bodies was spotted by an aerial surveillance aircraft on Saturday morning.
Earlier, a fishing boat discovered four other bodies about 100 km off the coast of Sarangani town.
The PCG announced on Tuesday that its teams rescued a male crew member from the missing vessel after he survived for nearly two days at sea.
The motorboat, described by authorities as a recreational vessel, carried four crew members and 11 passengers. It was reported missing on Monday, prompting the coast guard to deploy search-and-rescue teams to the area where it was last sighted.
Authorities said search operations remain underway as they continue efforts to locate the nine remaining missing passengers and crew members. ■
