Rescue teams search for 6 hikers in Makiling

Several teams of rescuers fanned out at scenic Mount Makiling in Laguna province Saturday to search for six high school students who lost their way while hiking in the area. The six third-year high school students, aged 14 and 15, sent text messages to their friends Friday night that they were "safe," but failed to respond to calls from their parents. "The last communication was at 6 p.m. Friday. Until this time we have not received word from them. We have tried texting them," Makiling Center for Mountain Ecosystems (MCME) director Portia Lapitan said in an interview on dzMM radio. She said that as of 6 a.m. Saturday, volunteers from the Lyceum of the Philippines and University of the Philippines College of Forestry joined the search for the students. Lapitan initially identified the six as Aldwin Sunga, Charmaine Bautista, Erlyn Banasihan, Reagan Nagahino, Bessie Lyn Lapitan, Maria Ruth Salazar, and Rica Marie Aquino. Citing reports reaching her, she said the six had no adult chaperone with them and initially told their parents they were just going to see the botanical gardens. Radio dzRH reported that as early as 2 a.m. Saturday, students at the UP Los Baños campus reported receiving text messages from the six that they are in "safe condition." It said rescuers from the municipal government started a search operation for the six early Saturday. Makiling is an inactive volcano that rises to 1,090 meters above sea level. The UP Los Baños is its designated caretaker. - GMANews.TV