Coast Guard deploys 3 more sniffing dogs for Masara landslide search

AS THE search and retrieval operation continues on the eighth day of the Masara landslide tragedy, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has deployed three more sniffing humanitarian K-9 dogs to help the first working dog responder, Appa.

Three female dogs were personally accompanied by their handlers from Coast Guard District Southwestern Mindanao (CGDSWM), Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur. They arrived at the Coast Guard District Southeastern Mindanao (CGDSEM) headquarters on Tuesday morning, February 13. 

Upon their arrival, the dogs were immediately blessed by the District’s Chaplain, CG Lt. Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Cabahug, for their mission of retrieving the missing individuals underneath the rubble.

In a post, the CGDSEM described the dogs as highly trained and played a crucial role in locating more bodies.

“The district remains committed to using all resources and employing every available means to locate and retrieve those affected by the landslide,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, Appa is making waves on the internet for his heroic skills in rescuing the three-year-old girl on February 9, almost four days or 60 hours since the landslide transpired at Zone 1, Barangay Masara, Maco, Davao de Oro on February 6.

Based on the latest data on casualties, the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Office of Maco (MDRRMO-Maco), with the help of the sniffing dogs, retrieved around 71 dead bodies, including the 17 unidentified bodies, while the number of injured has now climbed to 38. 

The Provincial Local Government Unit of Davao de Oro (PLGU-Davao de Oro) through their Management of the Dead and the Missing (MDM) Cluster has already announced that the families of the victims have to file a missing report to the Incident Command Post (ICP) in order to be validated by the local government unit of Maco (LGU-Maco). DEF

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