DISASTER AFTER MIDDAY Rescuers search the hull of the MB Nirvana for survivors after the wooden outrigger ferry capsized in rough seas off Ormoc City after midday on Thursday. At least 35 of the nearly 200 people on board the vessel died in the accident. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO FROM MIQUICAR PHOTO STUDIO
ORMOC CITY, Philippines—Shortly after leaving port on Thursday, crewmen of the ferry MB Nirvana asked their nearly 200 passengers and crew to put on life jackets because of huge waves.
William Donaire, 52, ignored the announcement, confident he was safe because there was no typhoon signal.
Another passenger, Mary Jane Drake, Filipino wife of a retired American firefighter, described the panic she saw and the screaming she heard when the Nirvana capsized.
“No one was able to jump out because the boat overturned very swiftly. There was no time to jump,” she said.
Her husband, Lawrence Drake, a former firefighter from Rochester, New York, said he ran to one side of the boat to try to balance it but it was too late.
“I jumped out of my seat and ran to the front as far as I could, and tried to lean over. I am a big guy, and tried to push the boat back over but it was way too late,” Drake said.
Within seconds, the boat overturned, many passengers screaming in panic, he said.
The passengers were all bound for Pilar town on Camotes Island, east of Cebu province.
134 survivors
At least 35 people drowned and 134 others were rescued by the Coast Guard, the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces, the Bureau of Fire Protection and local government units.
READ: At least 35 dead as ferry capsizes off Ormoc City
Twenty others were missing, the Coast Guard said, putting the total number of people on the boat at 189—173 of them passengers and the other 16 crew members.
READ: Partial list of survivors from Ormoc ferry accident
Donaire was among those who survived.
Big waves hit the Nirvana at past noon as it was turning to the right, about a kilometer away from the port of Ormoc City.
People at the port, including Poro Municipal Councilor Augusto Zurita, screamed when they saw the motorboat capsize.
‘It happened too fast’
Some covered their mouths in disbelief but most felt helpless as they watched the passengers of the Nirvana jump off the vessel.
“It happened so fast. When the vessel left the port, it turned (to the right) but it was done too fast and it was hit by big waves. The vessel then capsized,” Zarita said.
Donaire survived with wounds mostly in his arms and hands.
“I regretted not wearing a life jacket. I should have listened to the announcement,” he told the Inquirer.
He said that when the vessel capsized, he jumped into the water. Since he could not stay afloat without a life jacket on, he swam to the exposed hull and hung on to it even if there were seashells that were cutting through his flesh.
Other passengers held on to him.
Prayer answered
Donaire didn’t let go. He said he didn’t look at the other passengers and didn’t know what happened to them. He just closed his eyes and prayed.
His prayer was answered as he was among the passengers rescued by the coast guard.
SEARCH AND RESCUE A rescue team tries to save the lives of passengers and crew of the MB Nirvana in Ormoc City, Leyte province, on Thursday. At press time, 134 have been rescued out of nearly 200 passengers. JHAY GASPAR/INQUIRER VISAYAS
Donaire came from Pilar town in the Camotes Islands with his sister, Wilma Bisto, and her husband Luis to buy supplies in Ormoc. Pilar is about an hour by boat to Ormoc.
Donaire was worried about his brother-in-law, Lito, one of the missing. His sister survived.
‘I thought I would die’
Eduardo Pastoran, 52, thought it was his end. The father of six said he had to hang on to a floating bamboo to survive.
“There were cries all around. Passengers, including children and old people, jumped into the sea. I thought I would die,” Pastoran said.
While floating on the bamboo, he was able to pull up four people and make them hang on until they were rescued 30 minutes later.
Second life
While waiting for the rescuers, he saw five bodies floating.
Pastoran together with 57 others were brought to Gatchalian Hospital.
Pastoran was thankful. “This is my second life and now I am only thinking of my wife and children who I am sure are worried about me,” he said.
He said he went to Ormoc to buy materials for his vehicle.
Ann Garciano, 27 and a resident of Poro town in Camotes, was worried about her sister-in-law Marilou Gonzaga, who remained missing.
Garciano said she put on a life jacket when told by the crew. Then she saw the big waves hitting the boat while Nirvana was making a turn after leaving port.
When the vessel capsized, she immediately jumped into the waters. She said she floated in the water for more than 10 minutes before she was rescued.
Among fatalities
Among the fatalities was the cousin of Pilar Mayor Jesus Jer Fernandez Jr. Fernandez said there were three motorboats, including Nirvana, that plied the Pilar-Ormoc route.
On Thursday, only the Nirvana served the route because the two others had mechanical problems.
Also among the fatalities was Sonia Moreno, principal of Pilar National High School.
Julius Regner of the provincial disaster management office, said some survivors claimed the vessel might have capsized due to overloading.
“There was a lot of cargos, mostly cement and sacks of rice,” he said.
Dozens of survivors
The crew was headed by its skipper, Warren Oliverio.
Oscar Tabada, head of the local weather bureau, said the rough seas were caused by the habagat and the low pressure area in the Bicol region.
The hull of Nirvana remains visible from the port area.
Coast Guard spokesperson Armand Balilo said the wooden outrigger ferry was leaving for the Camotes Islands when it was lashed by strong waves.
Rescue boats picked up dozens of survivors who clung to the overturned hull of the vessel, one kilometer from Ormoc port on Leyte island, Ciriaco Tolibao from the city’s disaster risk reduction and management office told Agence France-Presse.
Human error, bad weather
Divers scoured the murky waters searching for survivors from the inside of the ship, he said.
“Search and rescue operations are ongoing. Initially we learned that it was due to big waves,” said Rey Gozon, director of the Office of Civil Defense for the region.
Balilo said authorities were looking at various possible causes of the accident, including human error and bad weather.
“There was an occasional swell but the sea condition was manageable. Some motorized outriggers were able to sail,” he said.
“There was no gale warning and while there was a tropical depression, it was far from the area of the accident.”
Planes couldn’t fly
Eli Borinaga, the vice mayor of Pilar town on an island to the south who had hoped to join the ferry but didn’t make it on time, told local radio that there was only light rain at the time of the accident.
He cited a witness at Ormoc port who saw the boat make a sharp turn just before it capsized.
At least 53 survivors were brought to the hospital while more than two dozen others walked home after the mishap, he said.
Low visibility, clouds, a choppy sea and strong winds hampered the rescue operation.
Richard Gordon, chair of the Philippine Red Cross, said the Air Force could not operate in those conditions. He said a team of divers was supposed to be deployed but additional divers could not fly in because of the bad weather.
Mouth-to-mouth
Drake said he was able to revive a woman who wasn’t breathing while they were in the water via mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
He said he also saved an 8-year-old boy and the woman’s pregnant daughter. But he said he also saw at least seven bodies floating in the water, including two children.
President Aquino directed the Coast Guard to “exert all efforts to look for those who remain missing.”
Malacañang “continues to monitor the progress of the rescue operations,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte told reporters. With reports from Jhunnex Napallacan, Doris C. Bongcac and Joey A. Gabieta, Inquirer Visayas; Jerry E. Esplanada in Manila, AP, Reuters and AFP