Death toll reaches 11

ILOILO CITY – The death toll in the sinking of a pumpboat off Concepcion, Iloilo rose to 11 as rescuers continued to search for the missing passengers.

In a related development, the Coast Guard allowed vessels to sail starting at 5 a.m. yesterday as the weather improved.

About 500 passengers were stranded in Iloilo because the Coast Guard earlier stopped all vessels from sailing due to tropical storm “Quinta.”

The Philippine National Red Cross said it distributed food items to those stranded and was on standby for any contingencies.

The number of casualties in the sinking of pumpboat Role IV reached 11 as of 8 a.m. yesterday, up from nine the previous day.

Three passengers were still missing, while 31 survived the mishap, Senior Superintendent Ricardo de la Paz, Iloilo police director, told The STAR.

The pumpboat was carrying 45 passengers when it capsized in rough seas off Barangay Maliogliog, Concepcion town last Thursday afternoon.

A Coast Guard team was spearheading efforts to locate the missing passengers, with the help of Bantay Dagat and the Mobile Group of the local police.

De la Paz said they would look into why the pumpboat owner and operator, a certain Adobo Padrillan, defied a Coast Guard order on Thursday morning banning all ships from sailing because of “Quinta.”

Initial reports showed that the pumpboat’s engine conked out at sea. A smaller pumpboat owned by barangay captain Espiridion Padrillan, brother of the Role IV owner, was dispatched to tow the stranded vessel, but the towline broke.

De la Paz quoted the survivors as saying that strong gusts of wind and huge waves buffeted the vessel, causing it to sink.