Ship rescues 7 fishermen off Ilocos; only 6 missing

DAGUPAN CITY—Only six of the 13 missing Pangasinan fishermen have yet to be accounted for after a commercial ship rescued seven of them on Saturday in the waters off Ilocos Norte province, reports from the Philippine Information Agency said on Sunday.

Lt. Archie Adanza of the Philippine Navy’s Naval Task Force 40 (NTF40) said a Navy aerial search team saw the fishermen waving at them at 73 nautical miles

(135 km) west of Currimao town in Ilocos Norte at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The aerial team then alerted a nearby commercial vessel MV Kavalaseas and asked the crew to rescue the fishermen, said Adanza.

Rescued were Ronnie Boy Maratas, 23; Rowel Bagor, 38; Joey Barrientos, 41; Ricardo Cas, 23; Jose Ronnie Bagor, 44; Nickson Bagor, 18; and Edmar Espira, 26, all from Bolinao, Pangasinan province.

They are crew members of the fishing boat, FB Double J, which had been at sea for at least nine days after it encountered rough waters when Tropical Storm “Kabayan” crossed the West Philippine Sea on Oct. 2.

Citing the report of crew members of the MV Kavalaseas, Adanza said the boat was damaged and was unable to travel ashore. He said the fishermen were able to talk and were responsive to the crew members after they were rescued.

Capt. Albert Mogol, NTF40 commander, said one of the rescued fishermen was weak and had to be carried on a stretcher when they arrived at Poro Point in San Fernando City in La Union at 12:30 a.m. on Sunday.

The fishing boat’s captain, Jose Ronnie Bagor, said they survived for nine days by eating sea grasses, small fish and ingesting sugar, which they salvaged from their wrecked boat.

“We drank a cup of seawater to soothe our dry throats,” Bagor said.

He said they went fishing on Sept. 29 and met rough seas on Oct. 2.

Based on a list of the Pangasinan provincial disaster risk reduction and management office, the seven rescued fishermen were among the 96 fishermen from Bolinao who sailed to the West Philippine Sea before Kabayan crossed the Luzon mainland.

The six fishermen who remained missing are Brandon Nebre, Orly Correa, Rex Cabanilla, Jimmy Advincula and Ricky Cabotaje of Agno town, who were aboard FB Triple N, and Conseso Peñaranda of Dasol town, a crew member of FB Flores.

On Thursday, seven fishermen who were earlier rescued and taken to Tokyo, Japan, by a passing ship arrived in their home villages.

Bolinao Mayor Arnold Celeste said the fishermen were rescued by an Indian cargo ship as it sailed to Tokyo through the international navigational lane in the West Philippine Sea on Oct. 2.

He said the fishermen’s boat, FB Queen Mitch, was battered by strong waves as Kabayan left the country through the western seaboard that day. Gabriel Cardinoza, Cristina Arzadon and Yolanda Sotelo, Inquirer Northern Luzon