Two Ginatilan fishermen drown after vessel capsizes

Police in Ginatilan town carry to the shore two fishermen, who reportedly drowned on Wednesday evening, June 10. Their bodies were recovered on Thursday morning. | Photo courtesy of Paul Lauro

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Police in Ginatilan town in southwestern Cebu retrieved on Thursday, June 11, the bodies of two fishermen who drowned after their vessel capsized in the sea.

Reports from the investigating team of Ginatilan Police Station identified the victims as Lord Francis Sereño, 38, and Hazel Kadolasali, 28. Both are residents of the town’s Barangay Malatbo.

Citing initial findings from their investigating team, Police Corporal Jason Lobendina of Ginatilan Police Station said the police, the town’s disaster and rescue team, personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection in Ginatilan (BFP – Ginatilan), and volunteer divers conducted a search and rescue operation on Wednesday evening, June 10, for Sereño and Kadolasali.

Lobendina said this developed after the victims’ relatives reported to police past 10 p.m. on Wednesday about the two fishermen allegedly being swept away by huge waves while trying to catch fish in the sea.

He also said that investigators were looking at strong sea current as the cause for the victims’ vessel to capsize that eventually led to their deaths.

“At that time, the current was so strong and the weather, although it was clear, was not friendly. There were strong gusts of wind, too,” he told CDN Digital in a phone interview in Cebuano.

He also said the search and rescue operation did not stop until the next day when the team discovered Kadolasali’s corpse floating within municipal waters in the town’s Barangay Guiwanon around 7 a.m.

“At 8:20 a.m., the body of his companion was found, and then brought to shore (in Barangay Guiwanon),” Lobendina said.

Ginatilan is a 5th-class municipality located 142 kilometers southwest of Cebu City. /dbs