DAGUPAN CITY — Three fishermen from the town of Subic in Zambales died while another was injured when their fishing boat was rammed by a still-unidentified vessel some 180 miles (289 kilometers) from Barangay Cato in Infanta town of Pangasinan early on Monday, authorities said.
The fishing boat “FB Dearyl” was at rest amid the rough seas while the 14 fishermen on board were preparing to send out its smaller service boats to catch fish when a passing ship got dangerously near them before slamming into their vessel, according to Cato village chief Napoleon Domalanta, quoting survivors.
In a phone interview, Domalanta said it was not immediately known if the ramming was intentional but the vessel reportedly did not stop to help the fishermen.
Due to the impact, the boat was destroyed and the boat’s skipper and owner, Dexter Laudencia, sustained severe injuries and died.
Two of Laudencia’s 13 crew members, identified as Benedicto Olandria and Romeo Mejico, also died, the village chief said.
Another crew member, Mandy An, was badly injured, Domalanta said, noting that the surviving fishermen did not see the ship’s markings since it was still dark.
The bodies of the fatalities were brought to the shore of Cato by their fellow fishermen using their service boats, locally called “pakura, according to Anabelle Buenaventura, who has been financing the victims’ fishing trips.
Deteriorating
Buenaventura said the fishermen decided to bring the bodies of the victims to Cato since it was closer than Subic, adding that the bodies were already deteriorating.
“Since they were only using small motor boats, the fishermen reached the coastal village of Cato at around 10 a.m. the following day,” Buenaventura told the Inquirer by phone on Tuesday.
She said the survivors were still in Infanta and were waiting for help to bring the bodies back home to Subic.
“The victims’ families are hoping that President Marcos and the Philippine Coast Guard will help in identifying the erring vessel that left them as they struggled to survive at sea,” said Buenaventura. INQ