Boatload of beer sinks in sea off Misamis town

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY –– Beer drinkers in Siargao may need to wait a little bit to quench their thirst.

A boatload of beer bound for the tourist island sank some two kilometers off the coast of Alimocohan village in Sugbongcogon town of Misamis Oriental on Tuesday evening, Sept. 15.

In a phone interview, Lt. Theofratus Pia, spokesperson of the Misamis Oriental police, said the medium-sized boat was battered by heavy waves as it traversed Macajalar Bay from Opol town on its way to Siargao.

Earlier, the vessel was loaded with 13,500 bottles of beer from a brewing company’s warehouse in Opol town, Pia said.

The vessel, named MLJJBA Sea Breeze, had seven crew on board, all of whom were rescued to safety by disaster responders of Sugbongcogon.

As big waves pummeled the boat, the cargo load was pushed to one side, causing the vessel to capsize, Pia explained.

Pia added that the crew managed to abandon the vessel before it went down, and were subjected to psychological and stress debriefing.

The mariners are identified as Ferdinand Bangcoyo, 52, the boat’s captain, Nandy Lanzaderas, 55, Fortunato Furcadili, 26, Berden Ilandag, 38, Robert Mondragon, 22, Leo Dorero, 21, and Procopio Spijon, 33.

Bangcoyo is from Dinagat Island, while the rest of the crew are from Siargao island.

The ship is owned by a certain William Himina of Surigao City. It was hired to transport loads of beer to Siargao.

Meantime, the crew is staying at the Sugbongcogon isolation facility while waiting to be fetched by their respective local governments.

ZB