(UPDATE) AGNO, Pangasinan: A fisherman from this town who was reported missing for three days in the West Philippine Sea has been rescued, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Monday.

Dexter Abalos, 32, a resident of Barangay Aloleng here, was spotted by a PCG aircraft clinging to a "payao" marker 17 nautical miles west of this town on Sunday, March 10, said Commander Alexander Corpuz, chief of staff of PCG Northwest Luzon.

A "payao" is a floating artificial reef usually made up of small bamboo rafts.

Abalos, who went fishing on March 7, was reported missing by his relatives when he failed to return home the following day.

A team was immediately organized to search for Abalos within this town's municipal waters.

When the search team failed to find him, the PCG requested its aviation force to conduct an aerial search.

The PCG station in Sual town and substation in Bolinao town immediately deployed teams to rescue the distressed fisherman upon receiving his exact location and coordinates provided by the aircraft.

Abalos was immediately ferried back to the Agno municipal fish port, where he was given medical attention by the rural health unit.

Abalos told his rescuers that while on his way home on March 7, his small motorized boat capsized after it was hit by a dolphin.

"The dolphin may have been chasing a school of fish. There have been similar cases reported to us in the past," said Corpuz.

Abalos then swam to the payao marker, tied his capsized boat to it, and stayed there for three days, hoping for rescuers to arrive.

The fisherman's family thanked the PCG for saving Abalos.

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