Fishing boat sinks off Sula Channel in Albay

LEGAZPI CITY— A fishing boat sank early yesterday morning at the Sula Channel off Bacacay town in Albay due to the southwest monsoon spawned by tropical s storm "Florita," the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.

Lt. Commander Nelson Torre, Coast Guard station commander here, said the FB San Rafael was battered by big waves churned up by the storm which was moving toward Taiwan over the western Pacific.

The boat captain and 14 crewmen, who were mostly from the Victory Village here, were rescued.

The fishing vessel was out at sea at about 6:30 a.m. yesterday when it was buffeted for hours by strong winds and big waves, causing a one-and-a-half meter wooden board on the right side of the boat to detach, allowing sea water to sip into the boat, Torre said.

The fishing crew were submerged in water for about one hour when a passenger vessel, the M/B Regina 2, which plies the route from Barangay Cararan in Rapu-Rapu Island to this city rescued Elvis Abionion, Pilito Damaso, Efren Trilles, Hemel Toquino, Niño Dado, Gil Verzosa, Alger Dado, Reynante Mapagdalita, Marlon Mapagdalita, Marlon Abinion , Jerwy Marquez, Christian Bahoy, Roger Abiñon and Eliseo Buroso and the boat captain Randy Mapagdalita.

The fishing boat was owned by a certain Rhea Mapagdalita of Victory Village here.

Torre said that upon learning of the news, he immediately dispatched a Coast Guard the rescue vessel EU3503 to the location of the FB San Rafael.

On the way, the Coast Guard vessel met the M/B Regina 2 at sea and transferred seven fishing crew to the Coast Guard vessel.

Torre said the fishermen were later taken to a hospital for first aid.

Tropical storm "Florita," the sixth storm to pass through the region this year, was about 900 kilometers northeast of Manila before dawn yesterday.

It was packing winds of up to 100 kilometers per hour and moving at 17 kilometers per hour northwest toward Taiwan, where it is expected early Friday to develop into a category 1 typhoon. — With AP