Death toll in Cavite boat mishap up to 4

By: Tina G. Santos - 10 years ago

MANILA, Philippines—The death toll in the sinking of a fishing boat that was broad-sided by a still unidentified cargo vessel off Cavite on Wednesday night rose to four after rescuers found two more bodies at the accident site.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) identified the latest fatalities as Romnick Rosales, whose body was found inside the ill-fated FB Dan Israel-G at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, and Ruben Ursal.

The fishing boat sank in waters between Caballo and El Fraile islands near Ternate, Cavite, between 11 p.m. and midnight on Wednesday.

Earlier, the PCG identified the first two fatalities as Vincent de la Cruz and Jojo Cumbilla. There were a total of 23 fishermen on the boat, with 12 of them being rescued.

Search and rescue operations are going on for the seven who remain missing.

The PCG said it will retrieve the sunken vessel.

“We will try to refloat the boat. We will use drums that will be tied to the boat to refloat it,” said Ltsg. Fidel Salidao, Cavite Coast Guard Station commander.

Authorities are still determining the name of the cargo ship that collided with the Dan Israel-G.

The PCG said it was investigating two vessels—identified as the MV Virginia Kalikasan and the MV Ocean Hope—in connection with the accident.

According to the Vessel Traffic Monitoring System, they were the only cargo ships in the area when the collision took place.