2 soldiers drown in Maguindanao

COTABATO CITY — Two soldiers who went missing after the scout boat carrying them capsized in a deep stretch of the Butalo River in Datu Salibo, Maguindanao del Sur on Friday were both found dead about 20 hours later.

The victims, who both belonged to a unit of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, were in one of the two small scout boats that capsized while its skipper was navigating through a wide and deep portion of the river.

They and their companions were out on a routine riverine anti-terror security mission when one of the two scout boats flipped.   

Military rescuers and village officials found the victims on Saturday, Major General Donald D. Gumiran, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told reporters on Monday. — John Felix M. Unson