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Thursday, November 27, 2008
16 rescued, 4 missing in sea mishap
MANILA -- At least 16 people were rescued while four others remained missing when a cargo ship sank off Batanes Group of Islands late Tuesday.
Captain Athelo Ybaņes, district commander of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) based at Poro Point in San Fernando City, La Union, identified the rescued crewmen as those from the cargo vessel Roro-type Landing Craft Transport (LCT) Mark Jason 1.
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The rescued crewmen are Nestor Sumokol Jr., Nestor Sumokol Sr., Melvin Evangelista, Mark Regonan, Ryan Mejares, Dante Resona, Alejandro Senagugote, Mark John Palcis, Rexy Cabaola, Ryan Herminio, Jackie Gan, Larry Sasidon, Galeleo Jaug, BJ Geronimo, Reynald Dapiton and their still unidentified companion.
The four missing victims were not yet identified.
One body was also reportedly seen floating but could not be immediately retrieved because of big waves and fears that rescuers, who came aboard commercial vessels, might be attacked by sharks.
Coast guard spokesman Lieutenant Gary Dale Gimotea said Wednesday that one survivor was bitten by a shark.
The stricken vessel was on its way to Batanes island to deliver airport construction equipment when it sank late Tuesday after being battered by big waves, Gimotea said.
The 851-ton vessel left Manila on November 17 carrying 14 crewmen and six construction equipment operators.
Gimotea said at least five vessels responded to a distress call and rescued 16 men.
Coast guard Commander Rudyard Somera, the captain of a nearby vessel, reported to the coast guard that the crew was abandoning the ship late Tuesday night. He tried to get closer but couldn't because of strong waves.
The waters in the Luzon Strait, about 330 miles (530 kilometers) north of Manila, are normally rough at this time of year.
As of this posting Wednesday, search and rescue operations for the missing crewmen are ongoing.
"We are presently conducting search and rescue operations for the missing crewmen of the vessel," Ybanes said.
He added that the Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy had already deployed two planes for the aerial monitoring of the missing crewmen.
Earlier this month, separate storms capsized two passenger boats in the central Philippines, drowning more than 50 people.
Sea accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago because of tropical storms, badly maintained boats and weak enforcement of safety regulations.
In December 1987, the ferry Doņa Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,341 people in the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster.
In June, the 23,800-ton Princess of the Stars ferry overturned during a typhoon, killing more than 800 people on board. (AP/PNA/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Iloilo. (November 27, 2008 issue)
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