Search resumes for missing swimmer

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Coast Guard frogmen resumed the search and retrieval operation on Friday for a 60-year-old man who went missing while swimming in the Cagayan River in Barangay Carmen on Thursday.

Nick Jabagat, head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department, said authorities received the report around 4 p.m. Thursday and immediately dispatched the city’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team to the site.

 Initial search efforts on Thursday yielded no results, and operations were suspended overnight. Reports indicate the victim was swimming near the riverbank when a strong undercurrent swept him downstream, which was the last time he was seen alive.

Jabagat warned that the area is accident-prone due to strong river currents, noting that just last month, a student went missing and was later found dead along the coast of Macajalar Bay.

Coast Guard frogmen continue a joint search and retrieval operation, scouring the river and nearby areas toward the sea.