RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's Embassy in the Philippines said in a statement on Wednesday that a high-level Saudi security delegation has arrived in Manila to coordinate with the local authorities in order to launch massive searches and investigations to locate the Saudi trainee pilot Abdullah Al-Shareef who went missing 580 days ago. This was in line with the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to coordinate with the concerned Filipino authorities to expedite the ongoing procedures and investigations into the missing case. The move reignited the hope of Abdullah's family members in unraveling the mystery about his fate as they believe that he is still alive. The Embassy said that it is continuing to coordinate with the Philippine authorities, with the follow-up of the Office of the Presidency of the Republic, and that the Embassy officials are holding regular meetings with all concerned parties to urge them to intensify searches and investigations. The search is still on in the Philippines for Abdullah, who went missing on May 17, 2019, from Occidental Mindoro island during a training flight with his Filipino trainer. Abdullah and his brother Abdul Majeed, who were studying aviation in the Philippines at their own expense, went to the island for training. Abdul Majeed thanked the Saudi leadership for its utmost keenness on the matter. He called on the Saudi Embassy in the Philippines to make more efforts to find his brother and to take all measures to quickly unravel the mystery. He said that some Saudi delegations went to the Philippines 10 months ago and returned without any information from the authorities, and it was followed by another delegation that had gone after the pandemic but returned without any lead. Earlier, Abdullah's family told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the search teams in the Philippines had come across important information that may lead them to unravel the mystery about the fate of Abdullah. The information came exactly one month after the specialists in the search team made a thorough examination of minute details about the plane's departure, the direction of movement, speed, loss of contact, and other information that came across after starting their search operation. The family members of Abdullah noted that these indicators came after analysis of the available information on the disappearance, using the latest equipment and technology. They said that the search and rescue teams could not find any debris, wreckage, or parts of the aircraft underwater or floating in the water. After getting information about the missing pilot, his family members reached the island where the plane disappeared to follow up on the incident. It was a shock for the family on what was circulated on the finding of the plane's wreckage after its disappearance from the radar screen, as well as some bodies and shredded flesh scattered in the sea and personal belongings of the trainer. But all the circulating information on finding the plane's wreckage and some body parts were later found to be untrue. The family confirmed that the information they got from the Philippine authorities indicated that a fisherman found a bag containing the trainer's identity card, bank cards, and photos, and this was the only confirmed information after both of them went missing. The information with the family indicated that the plane that went missing did not crash and Abdullah and his companion, the Filipino trainer, are alive. The mother of Abdullah said earlier that her son was not in dispute or hostility with anyone, and that he remained happy with his training, and was loved by his colleagues. The mother said that she received a call from him one day before his disappearance in which he expressed his happiness about his graduation that was supposed to take place after two months. According to the family, a colleague of Abdullah confirmed that he had called Abdullah over his mobile phone a week after his disappearance, and the phone was picked by a woman with whom he spoke for five minutes and then she disconnected. Doubts arose among the family about the fate of their disappeared son, with their conviction that he is still alive. They noted that the search teams in the Philippines have found important information that the mobile phones that the two missing pilots were carrying are still working and receiving specific communications.
