Davao City — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Southeastern Mindanao confirmed on Saturday, 24 January 2026, that seven bodies believed to be from the 15-man crew of the sunken MBCA Amejara were recovered along Sarangani shores.

PCG Southeastern Mindanao Commander Commodore Philipps Soria said a total of five bodies were first spotted floating on Saturday morning. “Four bodies were sighted in one sector while another was spotted in a separate sector which was a combined search by marine and air assets,” Soria said.

Authorities confirmed that the bodies belonged to the MBCA Amejara as they were wearing life vests and floating among debris.

Search and recovery operations continued as of 2 p.m., bringing the total recovered bodies to seven.

A Philippine Navy vessel has been deployed to retrieve the bodies while authorities and other agencies continue to search for the remaining missing crew and verify the identities of the victims.