57 fishermen still missing, 158 rescued after Kabayan

MANILA, Philippines - Fifty-seven fishermen remained missing yesterday after they went fishing in the West Philippine Sea at the height of Tropical Storm Kabayan, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Ilocos region said.

The number of rescued reached 158 while fatalities increased to three, two from Central Luzon and one from Ilocos, according to the OCD.

Some of the survivors sustained minor injuries like swollen hands and small cuts.

In a separate report, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) of Pangasinan said there were 43 missing fishermen as of noon yesterday.

More than 200 fishermen on board 37 fishing boats from the coastal towns of Infanta, Dasol, Bolinao and Agno in Pangasinan reportedly went fishing on Sept. 29. But strong winds and huge waves generated by the storm on Oct. 1 destroyed their boats, disaster officials added.

Artemio Quintero of Poblacion, Infanta was found dead on board FB Joshaina yesterday. The boat was recovered in Agno.

Samuel Corcoro of Maria Aurora town in Aurora drowned, while Raquel Camilo of Bongabon Nueva Ecija died of snakebite.

One of the survivors, Santos Lopez, recounted the incident.

“We got into trouble. The engine on one of the vessels malfunctioned and so when the bad weather came, one of the boats capsized while the other boat was cut into half. We did not know that there was a storm coming. Had the engine not died, we might have made it to shore before the seas became rough,” Lopez said in the vernacular.

Passing ships rescued some of the fishermen on Oct. 3.

Capt. Allen Toribio, commander of monitoring control and surveillance (MCS) 3007 vessel, said rescuers saw debris from the boats to which survivors held on for two days, floating at sea.

The joint search and rescue operation of the Philippine Navy, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine Air Force, Philippine National Police and volunteers was still ongoing yesterday.

A maritime alert was also issued to all vessels sailing in the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea to be on the look out for the missing fishermen.

Meanwhile, six of seven fishermen reported missing in the sea off the coast of Baler, Aurora last week made it back alive.

Kabayan also damaged infrastructure like roads, bridges and highways in Pangasinan, the storm’s exit path. The damage was estimated at P16.6 million.

A total of 113 hectares of rice fields in the province with an estimated value of P4.1 million were also destroyed by widespread flooding in the province. – With Eva Visperas, Evelyn Macairan, Cesar Ramirez, Vic Alhambra