Strong current of floodwaters eroded some 80 meters of road in barangay Carael, Botolan, Zambales, following heavy rains induced by typhoon 'Kiko' in that province and the rest of Northern Luzon last Friday, August 7, 2009.

Daring Philippine Air Force (PAF) helicopter pilots once again revisited their heroic acts performed right after the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo last Friday with search and rescue missions in Botolan, Zambales and in the mountains around the crater lake of Central Luzon’s most destructive volcano.

PAF spokesman Lt. Colonel Gerardo M. Zamudio Jr. said that less than an hour upon receipt of information from Capas, Tarlac Mayor Rey Catacutan that mountaineers were trapped in the slopes of Mt. Pinatubo, PAF’s 1st Air Division commander Major General Horacio Lapinid ordered the deployment of Huey helicopters from the headquarters of the AFP Northern Luzon Command in Tarlac, Tarlac.

Capas is the gateway of adventurous tourists to the crater of Mt. Pinatubo, a popular tourist destination in the region.

As of lunchtime Friday, Zamudio said, the PAF has accounted for the 12 tourists and their Filipino guides. The remains of a Filipino guide and a Canadian national were recovered, including the injured Korean and Canadian mountaineers who were sent to Central Luzon Hospital Capas in Capas, Tarlac.

In another development, Zamudio revealed that as early as 4 a.m. Friday, the PAF search and rescue teams at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City were already being briefed for deployment to the flooded Zambales town of Botolan. Two Huey II helicopters of the 505th Search and Rescue Group headed by its Group Commander, Col. Andre Tanyag with pararescuers on-board, lifted off for Zambales via Clark Air Base.

By Friday noon, the PAF has rescued 123 children and two adults who were plucked by PAF helicopters from their rooftops as Botolan suffered its biggest flooding since the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo.

It was learned that typhoon Kiko’s heavy rains triggered a lahar flow that breached a barrier dike, destroying the Bucao Bridge and flooding all the barangays of Botolan.

Zamudio added that the PAF will continue with its operation in Botolan until typhoon “Kiko” and the emerging weather disturbance has subsided or until the safety of the residents has been ensured by the responding government agencies.