BANAUE, Ifugao June 16 – Search and rescue operations is now underway for a reported Korean tourist who was said to have gone missing in the boundary of Pula, Barlig, Mountain Province and Batad, here, over the past several days.
Police authorities identified the missing Korean National as Choi Sungkyu.
Initial police investigation showed arrived in Barlig, Mountain Province in the afternoon of June 7 and subsequently checked in at the Halfway Inn and Restaurant located at Poblacion, Barlig.
The Korean tourist reportedly checked out from the said hotel at around 9 am of June 9 and informed the owner that he was going to Batad, Banaue from Barlig.
Shortly after he checked out from the hotel, he was seen by concerned residents in sitio Chator, barangay Latang, Barlig and he was proceeding towards Pula, Banaue wherein Batad could be reached from the said barangay.
At around 5:30 pm of June 13, PO2 Buting was able to get in touch with the Korean national who informed him that he was in an area with many pine trees and that he was very weak then. He allegedly informed the police officer that he was putting off his mobile phone because he was running out of battery.
At around 6:30 am of June 14, elements of the Barlig Municipal Police station received information from the Korean embassy that the missing tourist was in an area with many rocks and that he was alive which prompted them to mobilize concerned citizens and police operatives to conduct the search and rescue operations but they were not able to locate the missing individual.
Some 13 rescue teams composed of volunteers, police operatives and barangay officials are still conducting the search and rescue operations to locate the whereabouts of the missing foreign national.
By Dexter A. See
