ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 24, 2013) – More than two dozen fishermen were rescued after their boat capsized and sank off the southern Filipino province of Sulu, the Coast Guard said Monday.
Lt. Jomark Angue, the local Coast Guard commander, said 33 fishermen were rescued over the weekend, but 2 others remain missing. “Chief Engineer Renato Villalobos and oiler Ireneo Buhayan are still missing,” he told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
He said the boat, FB Uni-18, tilted on its side due to uneven distribution of its weight while hauling off its catch and capsized and eventually sank.
“The survivors were rescued by their sister ships and efforts have been made to find their two missing colleagues yielded negative results,” Angue said, adding those rescued were taken to Zamboanga City.
He said one of the boat’s Master Fisherman Renato Castaneda was wounded in his right leg and rushed to hospital.
Angue said the 18-year old boat, owned by YL Fishing Corporation, left Zamboanga on February 21 for a fishing expedition off Sulu. He said the boat had 5 crew members and 29 fishermen. (Mindanao Examiner)
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