Families left homeless by barge crash get aid

MANILA, Philippines - The 42 families whose houses were destroyed when two barges crashed into Happyland in Manila at the height of typhoon “Gener” received P5,000 each from the barges’ owner, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim said yesterday.

Lim thanked Robinson Sy of Asian Shipping Corp., which owns the barges.

“We asked the owner of the barges to give financial assistance. No one wanted that to happen, it was a fortuitous event,” he said during a dialogue with the families and the shipping firm’s officials at the city hall yesterday.

Sy said the financial support should help the families rebuild their homes.