Troops on Thursday scoured jagged coastlines on the Philippines’ eastern seaboard in search of dozens of fishermen who went missing after a typhoon that killed 23 people.

Using rubber boats and small fishing vessels, hundreds of soldiers raced against time to look for the 59 fishermen amid fears those still alive could succumb to hypothermia, regional military spokesman Major Harold Cabunoc said.

“We are still hoping we would get some of them alive. Some of them could just be stranded in small islands,” Cabunoc told AFP.