Five local rescuers, who went missing, were found dead in San Miguel, Bulacan amid the Super Typhoon Karding onslaught, Bulacan Mayor Roderick Tiongson confirmed on Monday, Sept. 26.

During the Laging Handa public briefing, Tiongson said the five rescuers were personnel of the Bulacan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).

“Meron na po tayong casualties na lima. Lima po ang PDRRMO [personnel] galing probinsya, mga nag-rescue po, sila po ay namatay dahil tumama po doon sa pader,” he said.

[We have five casualties. Five are PDRRMO [personnel] from the province, who conducted a rescue, and died after getting hit by the wall.]

Tiongson said a total of 49 barangays were flooded in San Miguel, Bulacan.

In an earlier local report from the provincial government of Bulacan, Tiongson said the rescuers were deployed around 4 am to rescue residents in Barangay Tigpalas and Samias, two of the flood-hit villages in San Miguel.

The mayor said they lost contact with the five rescuers as the flood reached more than 6 feet high.

The five rescuers were identified as George Agustin, Troy Justin Agustin, Marby Bartolome, Jerson Resurrenccion, and Narciso Calayag Jr.