The body of Hilario Palino, a contract worker of Saipan Stevedore Inc. for over 10 years and a resident of Kagman, was seen in the waters off the beach at 10 a.m.
Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Lei Ogumoro said DPS received a call for assistance at 9:39 a.m. yesterday.
She said the DPS Dive Rescue Team and Search and Rescue Unit, together with the Commonwealth Ports Authority and the Emergency Management Office, immediately responded to the area.
“The surf conditions were high and the waves were large and considered rough and dangerous,” Ogumoro said.
At 1:21 p.m., a U.S. Coast Guard chopper arrived and conducted an aerial search for 32 minutes before taking a break to refuel.
According to witness Adilihne Seman, she heard a woman’s voice shouting outside her house near Marine Beach at about mid-morning yesterday.
“I came out and saw a woman who was panting from running and she told me to call for help because her husband and another man drowned,” Seman said.
She added that she had to rush to her neighbor’s house to use the telephone and call for assistance.
Seman said that she knew the couple only as Benjie and Elsa as both frequently fish in the area.
“The couple were already fishing when the victim arrived. The three of them were standing on top of the flat rock when a huge wave swept the victim away,” Seman said.
She added that Benjie jumped in to try to save the victim but both got lost in the strong current.
It was at this point when Elsa sought Seman’s assistance.
She said they later found Benjie wedged between the rocks.
“He was badly bruised and his leg was swollen. Medics treated his bruises but he refused to go to the hospital for further treatment,” Seman said.
As early as 10 a.m., a dive rescue team was scouring the area in a search and retrieval operation.
“They spotted the victim’s body several times bobbing up and down on the water but the huge waves and strong current hindered them from retrieving it,” she said.
A cousin of the victim told Variety that he got a call from his aunt telling him to go straight to Marine Beach at around 11 a.m. yesterday morning.
“I told Palino’s wife to just stay home while I check out what happened,” the cousin said. He added that the victim, who was in his late thirties, had five children.
Recovered from the scene were the victim’s black boots, fishing rod, and three atulai fish which he had caught earlier.
“The incident has been classified as a missing person,” Ogumoro said, adding that the case is still under investigation.
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