Family, colleagues remain hopeful Robredo, pilots will be found alive… additional choppers, ships, divers deployed

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Family, colleagues remain hopeful Robredo, pilots will be found alive… additional choppers, ships, divers deployed

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay ·

By MALoterte, EADelgado

posted 19-Aug-2012 ·

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Besides the strong current and deep waters of Masbate Pass, time poses a big challenge to the search and rescue teams, which for more than 24 hours now, have been relentlessly scouring the crash site and surrounding areas to find Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and two others.

President Aquino refuses to give up and continues to stay put in the operation center overseeing the search and rescue operation until this evening optimistic that Robredo and the two pilots will be found alive.

Family, relatives, friends, colleagues and supporters of Robredo meanwhile offered simultaneous masses at the churches of San Francisco, Immaculate Conception, and Metropolitan Cathedral praying for and imploring Ina’s intercession for the safe return of Robredo and his companions.

Supporters continue to pour in Robredo’s residence to show support and anticipating positive developments for the ongoing search and rescue operations in Masbate waters.

Transportation and Communication Secretary Mar Roxas meanwhile bared that divers recovered mid-afternoon the flight plan more than 100 feet underwater indicating that the search and rescue mission is right on the vicinity of the crash site and the remnants of the ill-fated plane are close by.

The discovery of the flight manifest followed after rescuers also recovered parts of the plane's right wing with the aircraft designation plate RPC 4431.

Divers have also been deployed to investigate some trace signals of metal objects on the sea floor of undetermined origin indicated by sonar less than a kilometer off Masbate island.

Around 200 people from the United States Navy, Philippine Navy and Air Force, Philippine Coast Guard, and Philippine National Police, Philippine Red Cross, scube-ers, alongside local fishing fishermen, are conducting the surface and underwater search.

Naval Forces of Southern Luzon (Navforsol) based on this city has stated that Philippine Navy’s helicopter PNH 422 from Sangley Point, Cavite City already arrived 5:05 p.m. in Masbate to augment aerial search and rescue efforts.

The Navy, according to Navforsol, will also deploy two of its logistic support vessel to sustain search and rescue operations namely LC 550 and BU 825.

The US Navy, on the other hand, will be conducting another overhead flight of the sonar in the area.

In Albay, Gov. Joey Salceda said all 4 p.m. Sunday masses today in all parishes in Albay province were dedicated for the safety of Robredo and his two other companions - pilot Jessup Bahinting and co-pilot Kshitiz Chand - for the comfort of their families, fortitude of rescuers and peace of the entire nation-in-anguish in this period of uncertainty.

"I ask every Albayano to pray for that miracle for Jesse Robredo and to storm the gates of heaven so every angel would descend to protect him," Salceda furthered. (MAL/EAD-PIA5)

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