3 rescued from sunken ship off Batanes — PCG

At least three Chinese crew members have been rescued while two were confirmed dead after their cargo vessel sank off extreme northern Luzon earlier this week. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Saturday said the three survivors and two fatalities were located 97 to 127 nautical miles northeast of Itbayat in Batanes province in the northernmost part of Luzon. It said it is still engaged in joint search-and-rescue (SAR) operations with the Japan Coast Guard. The PCG said it will deploy its SAR Vessel 002 to join the operations this weekend. As of Saturday, it said at least 20 Chinese crew remain missing from the Panamanian-registered cargo vessel MV Nasco Diamond. One PCG aircraft is joining the air search while local Coast Guard units and volunteers in the area joined the surface search. For its part, the Japan Coast Guard had sent out one SAR Vessel and two aircraft while the Japan Maritime Defense Force sent two aircraft. Earlier, the PCG issued a notice to mariners passing through the area to be on the lookout of the distressed vessel. The MV Nasco Diamond lost contact while cruising Lian Yungang, China, while it was bound for Indonesia and passing through Philippine waters. — LBG, GMANews.TV