5 crewmen of sunken cargo vessel still missing

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – Rescuers have not found the five missing crewmen of a Panamanian cargo vessel that capsized off Curimao, Ilocos Norte in the South China Sea on Wednesday morning.

Navy pilot Lt. Nosuel Tejada told reporters they have only seen logs floating in the area where the M/V Unicorn Ace had sunk.

"The ship was totally submerged while the cargo, mostly logs, was scattered in the sea. The survivors hung on (to the logs) for several hours before they were rescued by the passing Indian ship," he said.

As of 3:00 p.m. yesterday, the Indian vessel M/V Bprabhuyubik was on its way to Manila carrying the Unicorn Ace’s 13 rescued crewmen, according to Melchito Castro, assistant director of the Office of Civil Defense here.

Castro said another vessel, Hong Kong-bound M/V Sea Angel, plucked two crewmen from the sea as well as the body of a dead colleague.

"We are still tracing where the ship went so that we can get information on the dead crew and the two survivors," he said. – Jun Elias