Bacolod resident remains missing after jumping off ship

A canteen worker of a college in Bacolod City remains missing more than a week after jumping from a ship off Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental. Solano Longakit Jr., 38, was aboard the M/V Maria Elena from Dipolog City when he reportedly jumped off the vessel, his sister Sheba Pongtod said. According to the news site Visayan Daily Star, Pongtod said her brother, an employee of the Bacolod City Christian College, may have suffered a nervous breakdown and jumped off the ship while it was 20 nautical miles off the Dumaguete City port. The report said Longakit's wife had gone to the restroom with their children while his nephew went to get their luggage, and he was left alone. The Philippine Coast Guard in Dumaguete City has launched a search-and-rescue operations but so far failed to find him. Pongtod described her brother as about 5'2" tall, and brown-complexioned. Any information about Longakit’s whereabouts may be texted to 09125214194 or 09185526577 or phoned to the BCC office at (034) 434-4957 or (034) 433-4032. - VVP, GMA News