4 missing fishermen found off Zambales

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Four fishermen who have been missing in the South China Sea since March 23 were finally found by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) over the weekend still in their boat off the Zambales coast.

"They were in relatively good condition, except for some dehydration and sunburn," said PCG officer Lt. Armando Balillo.

The boat captain, Pedro Isidro, 23; Romand Mercado, 25; Jimmy Frances, 37; and Zaldy Papatani, 49; all natives of Cebu, sailed off from Subic last March 23 but their boat, the Anita-Emelyn, ran out of fuel and the radio ran out of batteries after they were able to communicate to the boat’s owner, Zaldy Castillo, who alerted the PCG.

After 19 days drifting in the South China Sea, the four were finally spotted last Saturday. The PCG immediately dispatched a helicopter to pluck them from their outrigger fishing boat.

The fishermen were brought to the Philippine Navy headquarters in Manila and after undergoing medical examination were found to be dehydrated but relatively in good physical health.

They reported that when their food supply ran out on the fourth day, they survived by eating fish and squids which they caught from the sea and cooked on their kerosene stove.

The PCG commended yesterday the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet based in Okinawa, Japan for its assistance in the operation. A US Navy P3-Orion had pinpointed the exact location of the ill-fated banca. — With Nestor Etolle, AFP