After 26 hours of floating in the waters off Occidental Mindoro, a couple and a relative were rescued by crew members of a Chinese vessel and were taken to Toledo City at 2 p.m. last Thursday, Jan. 1.
In a phone interview, 21-year-old Edelyn Villarez said the motor banca that she, her 22-year-old husband Freddie and his brother Noel Villarez rode in capsized due to strong winds and huge waves caused by typhoon Seniang last December 31.
She said they left their home in sitio Bacoy, barangay Milagrosa in Bulalacao town, Oriental Mindoro to visit their relatives in Semirara Island, Caluya town in Antique province at 10 a.m., last December 31.
The crew of the Chinese vessel, MV Aily rescued them and turned them over to the Toledo City Police Office, Deputy Insp. George Macapobre said.
Macapobre said the three waved pink shirts to get the attention of the vessel’s crew.
The survivors are sheltered at the Toledo City Social Welfare and Development Office.