Philippine Coast Guard divers have recovered the remains of two people who perished after a sand carrier capsized off the Philippines' Occidental Mindoro province earlier this week, raising the incident's confirmed death toll to four.
The coast guard said the two deceased victims were found within the overturned sand carrier Hong Hai 16 on the morning (local time) of Thursday, April 17. One crewmember was located within the accommodation area just below the bridge at 08:15 while the second was recovered from a belowdeck cabin at 11:36.
The recovery brings the number of missing crewmembers down to seven. Two other individuals were found deceased within the first 24 hours following the capsizing off Occidental Mindoro's Rizal municipality at 17:20 on Tuesday, April 15.
Only 14 of Hong Hai 16's 25-strong crew, which included Filipino and Chinese nationals, have been safely rescued.
The coast guard had earlier said that a light oil sheen was observed near the wreck, prompting the deployment of containment booms. On Thursday, however, officials stated that a surface assessment confirmed there was no longer any visible oil sheen in the surrounding waters.
Commodore Geronimo Tuvilla, Commander of Coast Guard District Southern Tagalog, told reporters that the coast guard has issued a demand letter to Hong Hai 16's owner urging the latter to extend its full cooperation in the ongoing response operations.