2 dead, 10 hospitalized in ferry gas poisoning

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Two port laborers and 10 others were hospitalized yesterday after apparently inhaling noxious fumes from a ferry’s cargo hold, authorities said.

Police said the victims got down to the cargo compartment of KC Beatries when it docked here at about 7 a.m. upon its arrival from Jolo, Sulu.

Mayor Celso Lobregat said the victims were rushed to the nearby Brent Hospital, but two of them later died due to severe gas poisoning.

Lobregat said the victims were promptly rescued by their companions who also fell ill after inhaling the noxious gases emitted by dessicated copra and seaweeds in the cargo hold.

Dionicio Villaflores, one of the victims, said he saw his companions fell one by one below the lower cargo deck of the vessel.

"I attempted to rescue them but I also felt dizzy and crawled up from the deck to avoid suffocation because of the strong odor emitted by the copra and seaweeds," he recalled.

He said some of the victims had been trapped in the enclosed cargo deck for about 15 minutes before they were rescued.

Authorities said port laborers have been told to allow enclosed cargo decks to ventilate first, thus releasing the gases trapped inside, before they get inside and haul off their contents.