Batanes-bound ship sinks; 1 dead, 3 missing

TUGUEGARAO CITY – A rescue vessel and several commercial ships battled strong waves yesterday to try and pull crewmen from the raging watersrs of Balintang Channel in Batanes after their cargo vessel capsized overnight.

In an update yesterday afternoon, the Coast Guard said 16 of the 20 crewmen were rescued, with one dead and three others missing.

Earlier, Coast Guard Cmdr. Rudyard Somera said nine sailors were rescued and the remaining 11 were wearing life jackets and clinging to ropes tied to their vessel.

The stricken vessel, Mark Jason, was on its way to Batanes when it encountered strong waves late Tuesday in the Balintang Channel – where the Pacific Ocean and South China Sea meet.

Somera said the captain of another vessel nearby reported to the Coast Guard that the crewmen were abandoning the stricken ship some 20 nautical miles south of Sabtang Island. He tried to get closer but could not because of strong waves, Somera said.

“They trained their search lights on the vessel and observed that the crewmen were wearing life jackets,” he said.

At least four other ships and a Coast Guard vessel joined the rescue and dropped five life preservers toward the crew, Somera said.

He said the Philippine Air Force and the Navy were also asked to help.

The vessel had come from Bataan to deliver P16 million worth of asphalt-processing equipment for the repair of the Batanes airport.

It was also reportedly towing a barge with P38 million worth of asphalt.

Earlier this month, separate storms capsized two passenger boats, drowning more than 50 people.

Sea accidents are common in the country because of tropical storms, badly maintained boats and weak enforcement of safety regulations.

In December 1987, the ferry Doña Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,341 people in the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster.

Last June, the 23,800-ton Princess of the Stars ferry overturned during a typhoon off Romblon, killing hundreds of people on board. – Charlie Lagasca, Jack Castaño III, AP