The Adventist World Church is uniting in prayer for the safe recovery of the missing medical helicopter of the Philippine Adventist Medical Aviation Services (PAMAS) carrying five people en route to a hospital in the Palawan province, on the morning of March 1, 2023.
The helicopter carrying Captain Daniel Lui, an American volunteer pilot, Janelle Alder, an American volunteer nurse, a patient, and two passengers were returning from Mangsee island to Brooke's Point, located in the extreme southwest portion of the municipality of Balabac. The GPS tracking device on the helicopter had stopped sending signals by 9:00 a.m.
As news of the missing helicopter spread, members of the Adventist World Church, which has a significant presence in the Philippines, expressed their concern and rallied together to offer their support and prayers.
"We are deeply saddened by the news of the missing PAMAS helicopter and our thoughts and prayers are with the crew members and patient on board," said Pastor Ted Wilson, President of the Adventist World Church during an online prayer network live stream. "We are also praying for the rescue teams who are working tirelessly to locate the missing helicopter and bring everyone back safely."
Prayers and messages of encouragement flooded social media as the world church members join the live stream hosted by the Michigan Conference. Friends and colleagues from all over the world shared posts of prayer requests for the ongoing rescue operation for the missing helicopter.
The search and rescue operation for the missing helicopter is ongoing, with Philippine authorities deploying helicopters and boats to search the area where the helicopter is believed to have gone missing.
On a recent update by PAMAS on their official Facebook page, Day 4 of the search and rescue operations searched the area in the direction of probable flow, given ocean and air currents on Friday, March 3rd. Despite five to six hours of searching, nothing was found.
The Philippines Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard, along with the Palawan Governor, mayors, and Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), have been providing full support and are in communication and coordination with search and rescue operations. Two diving teams are ready to deploy, but the water depth in the area of possible ditching is being determined to ensure the safety of the divers.
On the other hand, an expert team has volunteered to provide their services for the underwater search, which is a crucial step in the operation. The team has extensive experience in searching for wrecks and has generously offered their services. While the costs of their travel and operations will need to be covered, their offer has been welcomed by PAMAS who are grateful for their help.
As the search continues for the missing PAMAS helicopter, the wider community is rallying together to offer their support and prayers for the safe recovery of all those on board. The authorities remain committed to deploying all necessary resources to locate the missing helicopter and bring everyone back safely.
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Edward Rodriguez, SSD Communication Department