Two passengers among 25 injured in accident at sea still at hospital

Emergency responders attend to the injured passengers of MV St. Braquiel after their arrival at the Pier 4 at the Cebu port. (CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)

TWO injured passengers of the sea accident at the Mactan Channel last Saturday evening are still recovering at a Mandaue City hospital.

Medilyn Marie Delfino said that her 49-year-old mother Jocelyn underwent a leg operation on the left knee while her 61-year-old father Medardo had Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a private hospital in Mandaue City.

“Sometimes my mother complained from hip pain while my father experiences (lower) chest pain,” Delfino told Cebu Daily News.

Medilyn’s parents were among the 90 passengers onboard MV St. Braquiel bound for Cebu City which left Ormoc City at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

The couple attended one-day event in Ormoc City on Saturday who decided to go back in Cebu City the same day.

Injured knee, chest pains

Her parents, who operate a business in Cebu City, were supposed to take an OceanJet vessel but was unavailable, prompting them to take MV St. Braquiel going back to Cebu City.

When MV St. Braquiel approached the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge, it hit the left and back portion of SMC Barge No. 8 of San Miguel Corporation towed by Philmarine Service Corp (PSC) Matatag.

Because of the strong impact during the accident, Medilyn’s parents were hurt especially her mother who sustained an open wound on her left knee.

“Sa akong papa sad, mag sakit iyang chest inig mo ginhawa siya that is why we decided for an MRI to determine what really happened to him,” she told Cebu Daily News.

For the meantime, the family still has to discuss with their lawyer whether they will file charges or not against the Supercat Fast Ferry Corp.

“The company promised to shoulder the medical expenses,” she added.

Yesterday, there were representatives from the Supercat Fast Ferry Corporation who visited Medilyn’s parents.

The company representatives handed cash for everyday food consumption. Per victim passenger, the company gave P700 per day for the allowance.

“Ang ilang gihatag na amount was good for three days consumption,” she added.

Marine Casualty Investigation

Dionlett Ampil, the commander of PCG for Cebu Station said that they received a go signal from the district office to create the Marine Casualty Investigation (MCI).

Ampil said that they would create the MCI within this week, an investigating body which would be made up of at least 8 to 10 people with technical experts.

Formal investigation would start within the week, said Ampil.

Though PCG already received copies of the marine protest from both parties but Ampil said that they still would need more information especially from the accounts of the passengers.

“There are also some questions that need to be answered like, gumagana ba ang radar ng vessels at zero visibility ba during the incident?,” Ampil said.

Supercat Fast Ferry Corporation general manager Lito Salvio earlier claimed that MV St. Braquiel’s radar was distorted when it reached Mactan-Mandaue Bridge, since radar echoed.

Ampil said that they still have to find it out about Salvio’s claims.

Meanwhile, the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina-7) also sent a team in Cebu from central office last Monday.

Lawyer Andrew Dadole, the legal officer of Marina-7 said that the purpose of the investigation is to determine if whether there are administrative sanctions for the seafarers and officers of the vessel.

The Marina-7 also had issued a passenger ship safety certificate against MV St. Braquiel and cargo safety certificate against SMC Barge No. 8 of San Miguel Corporation with Philmarine Service Corp (PSC) Matatag.

These means that the vessels are suspended until the investigation would be completed and they would be cleared by the Coast Guard.

Skippers Renierio Maurin of MV St. Braquiel and Edgardo Binolinao of Philmarine Service Corp (PSC) Matatag are also under preventive suspension.
Dadole said that if found guilty, another suspension or cancellation of licenses will be imposed for the officers of the ship.