5 dead in Subic shipyard accident

SUBIC FREEPORT, Philippines—Five workers were crushed to death and seven others were injured Friday morning when a massive steel ramp they were erecting at the Subic shipyard tore off from its supporting foundation posts and fell on them, local authorities said.

The steel ramp was operated by the Subic Keppel Shipyard Inc., but its officials refused to divulge details of the accident and its ongoing investigations.

Relief and medical workers, who were allowed into the compound, reported that the multilayered ramp was so heavy it crushed and mangled the victims.

The ramp supposedly disengaged when one of its foundation posts gave in to the structure’s weight. It fell on the workers, killing five of them.

Four of the workers died on the spot. A fifth victim died while being taken to the Lourdes International Medical Hospital in Olongapo City.

The injured were taken to the same hospital.

Relief workers said they had to put body parts in separate bags, hoping to piece these later when the medical examiner conducts an autopsy.

The Keppel workers are the latest in a series of shipyard accidents in the Subic Freeport that have claimed the lives of workers, most of them employed by neighboring Korean-owned Hanjin shipyard.

Subic Mayor Jay Khonghun was not allowed to enter the shipyard, which is under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, but officials there had confirmed that the accident took place at around 10:30 a.m. and at least five workers were killed.

“As soon as we heard [about the accident], we tried to get into the shipyard to get a report, but they did not let us in,” said Khonghun.

A check with various funeral homes here identified the fatalities as Jay Lord Reyes, Glen Miranda, Mark San Juan, Chrisander Papna and Ronald Lara. Initial examination of the bodies suggested that the workers suffered “multiple crush injuries,” the Inquirer learned.

“You see these kinds of injuries in the battle field. But here, it was very gruesome,” said Dr. Richard Patilano, a medical examiner.

He said the victims “nearly had their limbs severed.”

Among the injured were Alvin Peñeverde, Albert Ricaña, Belmore dela Vega, Eleazar Elopre, Bernardo Asinas. Two others have not been identified.

Ricardo Otero Jr., Khonghun’s executive secretary, said Keppel has not communicated with the town government about the accident. “Usually, communications lines to their company are open. Now, maybe, they are in a [state of chaos there],” Otero said.

This was the second accident in the Keppel shipyard. In 2003, an oil tanker exploded inside the shipyard, killing five workers.

William de Guia, who had worked in the Keppel shipyard for 16 years, said workers described a scene filled with blood and severed limbs, but were instructed not to speak to media.

Relatives of the fatalities complained that they were kept in the dark about the accident. “At first, there were a lot of conflicting reports. No company official contacted us. We just heard it from other workers. They said that there was an explosion. Others said it was a ramp that fell down on them,” said a relative of one the victims.

Papna’s wife Christine said, “We were confused about what happened inside. But no one told us, until finally, a relative of ours who worked in the municipal hall told us about the accident and we rushed to the funeral parlor.”