Five mountaineers stranded in the Sierra Madre mountains in Isabela for seven days were rescued by members of the Philippine Air Force.

Bert Peeters, a Belgian national together with Filipino environmentalists Gary Bernal, Angelito Agustin, Luzviminda Lopez and Narciso Gumangan were rescued by members of the PAF Tactical Operations Group after being trapped in the mountains due to the continuous rain in the area.

PAF spokesperson Lt.Colonel Gerardo announced the rescue of the environmentalists who are all members of the Cabiao Kid Foundation from Nueva Ecija.

According to Lt.Col. , the group hiked up the Sierra Madre last January 13 from Iligan City. Due to continuous rain, the river overflowed trapping the mountaineers in one area.

Noni Dela Peña, the group's Dumagat guide, swam across the river and hiked back to Iligan to seek help. The guide reached Iligan yesterday morning and sought the assistance of authorities.

According to Lt.Col. Zamudio, the Commander of the TOG, Col. Joven Ronan, immediately dispatched two Huey helicopters to the area to search for the missing group.

The search and rescue team located the mountaineers and brought them back to Iligan City.

Lt.Col. Zamudio disclosed that the rescued mountaineers are now under medical observation at the 15th Infantry Division of PAF in Isabela.