3 foreign tourists rescued off Mindoro

MANILA, Philippines - Two German tourists and an Australian have been rescued following two days in waters off Oriental Mindoro after their boat capsized while they were island-hopping, the Coast Guard said yesterday.

Ralf Harald Auer, 54, his son Thomas Auer, 20, and Australian family friend, Joshua Marsh, 20, were taken to a hospital and treated for bruises and dehydration before being released, said Chief Petty Officer Venerando Celis.

All three are based in Australia, he said.  

The Filipino who was piloting the small boat – the sole crewmember – was missing after he attempted to swim ashore to seek help when the vessel was knocked over by huge waves in the Sibuyan Sea on Tuesday, he said.

The Germans and Australian were rescued Thursday by a passing freighter which found the men clinging to the outrigger of their capsized boat and took them to the central port of Iloilo, Celis said.

“They were weakened by lack of food and having been in the water for two days and two nights,” Celis said, adding that a notice had been issued for boats to be on the lookout for the missing Filipino.

The accident occurred as the boat attempted a 40-kilometer crossing to Marinduque island, where the elder Auer’s Filipina wife comes from, said Celis.