2 fishermen die, another missing from sunken boat off Marinduque

CITY OF CALAPAN—Two fishermen died and another remained missing when their motorized boat sank Tuesday near the Elephant Island (now known as Bellaroca Island Resort and Spa) on their way back home to Buenavista town in Marinduque province.

Four others survived the ordeal.

Colonel Wilson Santos, Marinduque provincial police chief, said the body of Bobby Villavicencio, 46, was found at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 9, close to where their boat sunk.

Personnel from the Philippine Coast Guard, police, and the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office of Buenavista were still looking for his missing companion, Almario Mingueto, 63.

Bobby’s brother Bernie, 41, was located alive at 3 p.m. on Wednesday in Barangay Pinggan, in Gasan town, while another brother, Hermes, 35, was found alive at 4:30 p.m. near the Bellaroca Island Resort in Buenavista on the same day, Lt. Col. Imelda Tolentino, information officer of the Mimaropa police said Thursday.

The four were onboard FB Green Horse with 14 others when strong waves spawned by Severe Tropical Storm “Jolina” battered their boat on Tuesday.

Jovert Garay, 21, was first reported to have died from drowning and head injury. Four crew members–the Villavicencio brothers and Mingueto–went missing.

The survivors, who include boat captain Edgardo Garay, the uncle of Jovert, narrated to police that 16 fishers were on board the boat that left Pagbilao town in Quezon province at 6 p.m. on Tuesday after unloading their catch from fishing in Palawan.

They were sailing back home to Barangay Tungib in Buenavista to anchor their boat when, at 7 p.m., nine of the crew decided to swim to the nearest shore before the waves got stronger. Seven others chose to stay and guard their boat.

But at midnight, strong waves hit their boat that sunk off the shore of Barangay Yook, also in Buenavista. The boat captain and another fisher managed to swim to safety, the report said.

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