Cargo ship's skipper found dead; 7 rescued

Seven passengers of a boat that overturned off Sibay Island in Antique last Monday, were found by helicopter-borne Coast Guard men in Diit Island near Cuyo, Palawan yesterday.

The search-and-rescue team also fished out of the water the bloated body of Capt. Amado Lanoy, skipper of MV Jovic, a cargo ship bound for Cebu City from San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, according to reports reaching the Department of Transportation and Communications.

Lt. Cmdr. Ricardo Prillo, Coast Guard information officer, said six of the seven rescued are crewmen of MV Jovic which was carrying 18,000 sacks of rice from the National Food Authority for delivery to Cebu City.

The cargo vessel was forced to seek refuge in Sibay Island after encountering rough weather which had caused strong waves to batter the ship, he added.

Prillo said after the vessel had anchored off Sibay Island, the six crewmen, along with an NFA representative, Bing Villanueva, decided to go ashore on board a motorized boat.

When they failed to return to the ship the following day, the other crewmen became worried and radioed the nearest Coast Guard station for assistance, he added.

It turned out that the boat had overturned after it was hit by gigantic waves. -