VISAYAS BOAT SINKINGS:
Fishermen left messages for kin before drowning--survivors
By Carla Gomez
Visayas Bureau
First Posted 17:34:00 06/25/2008
Filed Under: Typhoon Frank, Fishing
BACOLOD CITY, Philippines -- It was a harrowing experience for three members of the 14-man crew of a fishing boat as they watched their fellow fishermen let go of makeshift rafts after leaving messages for their loved ones.
Forty two-year-old Andres Cabus, captain of the MV Laura Roldan and a resident of Escalante City, and two crew members, Pedro de la Cruz, 53, and Esmeraldo Mata, 40, of Cadiz City, recalled how they hung on to the rafts for three days and two nights, after their vessel sank in stormy seas at the height of typhoon “Frank” (international codename: Fengshen) on Saturday.
He said they struggled to stay afloat but became exhausted and weak from lack of food and water.
Cabus said they could not do anything as their exhausted colleagues asked them to relay messages to their loved ones before letting go.
"We watched our companions who did not have the strength to go on fall into the waters one by one," Mata said.
Mata said their vessel was near Alutayan Island in front of Roxas City when Frank started battering it from Friday evening to early Saturday morning. They abandoned ship when water began to fill their engine room.
They were rescued in waters of Masbate Tuesday afternoon and airlifted back to Negros Occidental by a Philippine Air Force helicopter that had been tapped by Negros Occidental's Task Force Mananagat (Seafarer).
Three fishermen from Guimaras provinces were also among the survivors.
"We survived on prayers and rainwater that we squeezed out of our drenched shirts to drink, as we cupped out the water filling our vessel," recalled 27-year-old fisherman Florencio Palma.
Palma, Rey Amegable, 23, and Generoso Ganancial, 47, were just four kilometers from home in Barangay (village) Sebaste, Sibunag, Guimaras at 5 p.m. Saturday when the engine of their pump boat (motorized outrigger canoe) conked out.
Fortunately, their pump boat came ashore at EB Magalona town, Negros Occidental at 3 p.m. Sunday. With the help of local fishermen and Barangay Captain Rufino Alcala of Punta Taytay, Bacolod City, the three were able to leave Negros for Guimaras.
On Monday, the Task Force Mananagat counted 178 fishermen from 24 missing vessels but the exact number of those rescued could not be confirmed as various agencies gave different figures.
Cadiz Coast Guard chief Alexius Soledad said they recorded 15 vessels with 225 crewmembers caught at sea when Frank hit. Of the crewmen, 93 were rescued, six were confirmed dead, and 125 remain missing, Soledad said.
Negros Occidental police director, Senior Superintendent Rosendo Franco, said they were using an Air Force helicopter to rescue survivors while boats brought home the dead.
Ten bodies have been found in Carles, Iloilo; 16 in Estancia, also in Iloilo; and 29 in Masbate, but it is not known if they were among the missing Negros Occidental fishermen, police reported.
Meanwhile, Cadiz Vice Mayor Samuel Mirhan said six fishermen from Cadiz City were rescued in Masbate waters late Monday and 12 others found on Sicogon Island were brought home Monday.
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