The fishing boat “Gra Twin Sister” carried 50 crew members when it capsized on June 23 about 18 nautical miles (33 kilometers) from the shoreline of Barangay Saysain in Bagac town, Bataan province. | PHOTO: PCG Facebook page
LUCENA CITY—The fishing village of Wawa in Nasugbu town in Batangas province mourned the death of four local fishermen, whose boat capsized on June 23 in the seas off Bataan province.
“The whole village is in grief. This is the first time that local fishers met a tragedy while fishing,” Vincent Atienza, Wawa village chieftain, said in a phone interview Monday.
He said the fishing boat, Twin Sister, was on her maiden voyage when it battered the rough seas. Most of its crew members were residents of the village.
“It was a new fishing boat. The weather is fine. But unfortunately, the boat was struck by a waterspout,” Atienza said, citing information from survivors.
He said the remains of the fatalities, identified as Alexander Mesina, 52; Tirso De Guia, 45; Edgar Balboa, 50; and Gregorio Limboc, 43, all residents of the village, were brought home to their respective families.
“All the crew, who survived, and the victims’ families, are being taken care of by the boat owner,” Atienza said.
Missing
Atienza said the whole village was praying for the safety of the lone missing crew member, Jemar Dacillo.
In a belated report on Sunday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said the fishing boat capsized some 18 nautical miles (33 kilometers) from Bagac town in Bataan. It did not specify the time the incident happened.
It said the boat carried 50 crew members, and 45 of them, including boat skipper Gregorio Abong, had been rescued after it sent one of its vessels, the BRP Malabrigo, to assist the distressed fishers.
The PCG also deployed the Coast Guard helicopter CGH-154 for an aerial search, adding that they had recovered the capsized boat.
In an interview on Sunday, Coast Guard Petty Officer 1 Edward John Lazaro, commander of the Coast Guard’s Morong substation, said the boat met strong waves and overturned off the shore of Barangay Saysain in Bagac.
Lazaro said they sent a search-and-rescue team to look for Dacillo.