BONTOC, Mountain Province – Rescuers found a missing victim dead under the Chico River, two meters away from their submerged vehicle in Sitio Gawa, Barangay Tocucan, Bontoc, Mountain Province, at around 11:00 a.m. on October 28.

The victim was identified as Carlo Ancheta, 17, a native of Evangelista, Tayug, Pangasinan, while the search is still ongoing for another victim, Edmud Romero, 22, a native of San Nicolas, Pangasinan.

The three who were first seen after the incident were Rogelio Romeo Dela Cruz, Jr., 22, of San Rafael West, San Nicolas, Pangasinan; JC Aquino Galicia, 20, of San Rafael East, San Nicolas, Pangasinan and Zoren Jay Luaso Alat, 25, a young man, from Siay, Zamboanga del Norte.

It can be recalled that at around 4:11 a.m. on October 27, the victims were riding in a Mitsubishi Canter, heading to a construction site in Sadanga, Mt. Province when it collided with a Ford Fiera and a mini dump truck along Bontoc–Tabuk Enrile Road in Gawa, Barangay Tocucan, Bontoc, Mt. Province.

The victims’ vehicle went straight into a ravine and fell approximately 150–170 meters into the Chico River.

Before Ancheta’s recovery, Tocucan elders conducted a ritual to offer prayers to Lumawig (Kafunyan), seeking guidance from God for the immediate recovery of the remaining missing victims and for the safety of all responders involved in the ongoing search and rescue operations.

This ritual emphasizes the deep spiritual connection of the Bontoc community, incorporating indigenous cultural practices into emergency response efforts as a symbol of faith, unity, and hope in times of tragedy.