Friday, November 23, 2007 2 British tourists, 6 more injured
A SECURITY guard was arrested after his shotgun accidentally fired at the Sta. Fe, Bantayan Island wharf, injuring eight persons, including a policeman and two British tourists.
Jesus Esgno Ango, 26, was trying to load his company-issued shotgun when he accidentally pulled the trigger.
Hanging around the wharf were British tourists Niphi Simon Pratt, 25, and Jessie Anderson, 23.
Also at the wharf were PO1 Henry Asentista, 37, of the Madridejos Police Station, trisikad drivers Mario and Relito Villaruel, Christorey Monteadora, Romeo Escaran Jr. and John Paul Ilustrisimo, 21.
SPO4 Felix Lapera, Sta. Fe police station chief, told Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Carmelo Valmoria that Ango was trying to ward off the trisikad drivers who were blocking the entrance to the wharf.
Ango, who works for the Superlight Security Agency, is detailed at the Cebu Port Authority office in Sta. Fe.
He reportedly tried to scare them off with the shotgun, when he pressed the trigger instead.
Pratt was wounded on both legs and the left ankle while Anderson was wounded in his right elbow and left leg.
Asentista suffered a wound in the back, just below his left shoulder, and near his left elbow.
Ilustrisimo suffered a wound on his left leg while Escaran and the Villaruel brothers suffered wounds on their feet.
Four of the victims were transferred to a hospital in Cebu City, although Lapera said none of the victims had serious injuries.
SPO1 Antonio Illut of the Sta. Fe Police Station said all the victims did seem to be interested in filing a case, saying they understood it was an accident.
The two British tourists also refused the refund for medical expenses offered to them by Ango’s aunts.
Ango’s aunts paid for most of the expenses, although Illut said representatives of Ango’s agency were at the police station yesterday afternoon.
They also insisted that the Villaruel brothers, Monteadora and Escaran be sent to a hospital just to be sure the splinters did not hit critical areas in their bodies.
Illut said the British tourists were taken to the resort in Barangay Ocoy while some of the trisikad drivers already went back to work. (MEA)
