4 more bodies fished out of Sibuyan Sea

NAGA CITY, Philippines—Four more bodies have been recovered by the Coast Guard in the Sibuyan Sea off the island of Masbate, an official said Thursday.

At about 5 a.m. Thursday, residents of Barangays (villages) Poblacion, Palani and Dao in the town of Balud in Masbate informed the Coast Guard about bodies washed ashore in their coastal villages.

A body was each recovered in the three coastal villages, all of whom were later confirmed to be among the missing crew members of the fishing boat F/B Hope Christy that capsized off Masbate in the early hours of July 25 as tropical depression Juaning was brewing into a storm.

Captain Tranquilino Paiton, Coast Guard commander in Bicol, said in a phone interview Thursday that only one body was so far identified, that of Richard Dichosa, who was washed ashore in Dao. He was identified by his son Rene, said Paiton.

All three bodies were taken to a funeral parlor in Balud, he said.

On Wednesday, a passing fishing boat also recovered a body off Barangay Ubo at about 3 p.m., said Paiton.

At present the Coast Guard was conducting foot patrols in the coastal villages of Balud and Mandaon to check if more bodies have washed ashore.

With the retrieval of four more bodies, the number of recovered bodies from F/B Hope Christy now stands at 16. Three more fishermen remain missing. Thirteen crew members were rescued last July 27.

The fishing boat had 32 crew members, mostly from Barangay Libas in Roxas City in Capiz.