Six Pinoy survivors of shipwreck come home

Six Filipino seamen who survived a shipwreck off the coast of South Africa’s Port Elizabeth last May 3 arrived back home yesterday, saying they were very happy to be alive and back home in spite of Typhoon "Caloy."

The seafarers arrived from South Africa yesterday afternoon aboard an Emirates Airways flight via Dubai. They were escorted by their manning agency’s crewing manager, Captain German Mendez.

The seamen, identified as Sherie Montano, Allan Omol, Elizer Paulino, Aljess Miranda, Antonio Vergara and Lee Alemanya, were all beaming with joy minutes after stepping off the airplane, which was delayed for almost 20 hours because of the strong winds brought on by Caloy. They were later reunited with their families.

Omol, who as port engineer of Greek bulk cargo ship M/V Alexandros T, is the highest ranking among the survivors, spoke on behalf of the group. He recounted that their ship was sailing some 300 miles off the coast of Port Elizabeth in South Africa on its way to China from Brazil when they encountered heavy seas.

According to Omol, it was at around 8 a.m. of May 3 when he heard a loud bang underneath the ship, followed by a strong tremor that shook the vessel.

He immediately went to the engine room to check and was surprised to find out that everyone in Cargo Hold 6 was busy pumping out water. Omol, whose shift would not start until noon, went back to his room to rest since everything seemed to be under control.

By the time he reported to work at noon, the ship was already listing to the left and he saw most of the crewmembers pumping out water from Cargo Holds 6, 7 and 8.

At around 6 p.m., crewmembers were already ordered to wear life vests and report to their assigned lifeboats for possible evacuation.

During that time, the swells in the Indian Ocean became bigger, battering the already sinking ship.

At around 9 p.m., a massive wave hit the ship, washing the five seamen, except Montano, off the deck and into the rough sea.

Just 10 seconds after they were washed overboard, Omol recounted that they saw the vessel snap in the middle and immediately sink below the ocean surface.

The five seafarers held on to each other as they floated for nearly an hour in the near-freezing waters, battered by large swells, when they saw an empty lifeboat drifting towards them. After a few minutes of swimming, all five were able to get out of the freezing ocean and into the relatively warm interior of the lifeboat.

Using the survival kit inside the lifeboat, Omol was able to signal for emergency help, which made it possible for the crew of another ship, the M/V Fortune Express, to locate and rescue them just before 10 p.m.

Meanwhile, Montano said he was separated from the group when the giant wave washed them overboard. He was lucky enough to grab onto an inflatable life raft, which he immediately inflated while struggling to stay afloat.

The big waves sent Montano in a different direction. After spending 11 hours in the middle of the ocean, a C-130 search and rescue plane from South Africa located him. Montano’s location was radioed to the Fortune Express, whose crew then rushed to rescue him.

The survivors were brought to Port Elizabeth for medical attention.

Of the 24 Filipino crewmembers aboard the Greek-owned ship, only these six survived. Mendez flew to South Africa to attend to the needs of the six survivors.

Philippine Ambassador to South Africa Virgilio Reyes assisted the survivors in getting travel documents for their repatriation back to Manila.

Upon their arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the survivors were one in saying how happy they felt to be alive. At the same time, they profusely thanked their employer as well as the people from the Philippine embassy in South Africa for taking care of their needs, especially after their rescue.