5 in capsized boat rescued after 40 hours at sea

CEBU CITY, Philippines—Five persons, including a Korean, were rescued on Sunday morning after 40 hours of floating at sea after their pump boat capsized during the onslaught of Tropical Storm “Basyang” on Friday.

They were rescued at 7 a.m. by two fishermen—Mario Soringa and a certain Gonzaga—who saw them clinging to the capsized pump boat in the waters off Barangay (village) Onion, San Francisco town, on Camotes Island, Cebu province.

But Julius Ferilla, 30, and one of the Filipino survivors, filed a complaint against Korean Ho Geol Ga, 26, for hurting him and the crew of the pump boat during their 40-hour ordeal at sea.

The three others rescued were boat owner Stimson Suello, 50; his son Eron, 18; and nephew Jemson, 22, all from Sitio (subvillage) Kalas-agan, Santiago, in San Francisco.

Ho Geol, his parents Kion No Ga, 55, and Kyougae Lee, 52, and older brother In Geol Ga were in Camotes to tour the island.

Storm signal

On Friday, they insisted on sailing despite the anticipated onslaught of Basyangto Cebu, which was placed under Storm Signal No. 2, because they had a flight to catch on Saturday.

PO3 Christopher Tura, investigator of the San Francisco police station, said the Koreans asked Stimson Suello to bring them to Danao City and paid him P4,500.

When Ferilla learned about the trip, he asked that he be included and would just pay his share of the pump boat rental.

The group gave Stimson Suello P2,500 in deposit.

While sailing in strong winds and rough seas on Friday afternoon, Stimson Suello told Tura that Ho Geol Ga suddenly transferred to the other side of the boat, causing the pump boat to tilt and capsize.

Ho Geol Ga’s parents and older brother were first rescued by a fisherman in Danao on Saturday morning.

Tura said the fisherman’s boat could not accommodate all eight passengers. But when Coast Guard personnel searched for the remaining passengers on Saturday afternoon, the five could not be found.

About 7 a.m. on Sunday, two fishermen on board separate pump boats found the five survivors holding on to the capsized boat.

The survivors were already weak after floating in the waters for two nights.

“They ate seaweeds found in the sea because they were so hungry,”Tura quoted Stimson Suello as saying.

The five were brought to Maningo District Hospital but were released after their checkup.

Complaint

Tura said they brought the three Suellos to their homes in Barangay Santiago while they turned over Ferilla and Ho Geol Ga to the Coast Guard detachment in San Francisco.

But Ferilla filed a complaint in the police station, claiming that Ho Geol Ga was violent during their ordeal at sea.

Ferilla claimed that Ho Geol Ga hit Stimson Suello and the other crew members with a flashlight while they were clinging to the capsized boat.

At 7 a.m when the pump boats of the two fishermen arrived, Ho Geol Ga suddenly kicked Ferilla’s back because the Korean wanted to jump to the rescue boat ahead of the others.

Ferilla said he was thankful that he was able to hold on to the outrigger of the boat.

Tura said the Korean’s behavior might have been affected by the accident. He said the 18-year-old Eron Suello was also emotional following his rescue. “He kept on crying because he thought they were going to die, Tura said.