42 sea vessels destroyed or damaged during Yolanda—PCG

Survivors walk through the rubble of damaged homes and a ship that was washed ashore in Tacloban city, Leyte. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 42 vessels, mostly in Leyte province, either sank, were damaged or were reported missing during supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name Haiyan), a Philippine Coast Guard official said.

Commander Armand Balilo, also chief of the PCG’s Public Affairs Office, reported on Thursday, that 11 sea craft sank, one capsized, 26 ran aground while four were reported missing during the onslaught of the typhoon in Leyte and the neighboring provinces of Western Samar and Eastern Samar.

The Coast Guard, however, has not disclosed the number of fatalities in maritime-related accidents during the extreme weather disturbance that devastated mainly the Eastern Visayas and other parts of the central Philippines.

In a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Balilo also disclosed that the PCG search-and-rescue vessel BRP Nueva Vizcaya was leaving shortly for Ormoc City with some 40 tons of relief goods sent by the Department of Social Welfare and Development

Another Coast Guard ship, the BRP Romblon, was “on its way to Coron for its third relief sortie in the northern Palawan area.”

The ship earlier dropped off relief goods in Coron and El Nido, both popular tourist destinations in northern Palawan.

In Cebu City, the BRP Edsa was “reloading relief items intended for typhoon victims in Tacloban City,” Balilo added.

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