36 dead, 20 missing as banca capsizes off Ormoc City waters
Rescuers help passengers from a capsized ferry boat, center, in Ormoc city on Leyte Island, Philippines, Thursday, July 2, 2015. A ferry capsized Thursday as it left a central Philippine port in choppy waters, leaving dozens dead and many others missing, coast guard officials said. (AP)
SUDDEN TRAGEDY
Municipal Councilor Augusto Zurita of Poro Islands, Camotes Cebu never expected to see firsthand a motor banca capsize just 100 meters away from the Ormoc City port, where he and several others stood.
As of last night, 35 people, including 3 children, perished.
“Pag-atras sa motorboat kay mobiya na sa pantalan, mi-pivot o mituyok siya pero kusog kaayo unya naigo sa dakong bawod, natikyaob dayon (When the boat moved back as it left the port, it pivoted or turned around but it moved too fast and got hit by a big wave, it capsized),” Zurita said.
READ: Camotes execs to implement stricter sea safety measures | Cebu sent rescue group to Ormoc City | Aquino orders probe into capsizing of ferry
The Philippine Coast Guard in Ormoc City said 35 people died while 134 were rescued and 20 remain missing when the MB Kim Nirvana-B capsized minutes after it left the Ormoc City port in Leyte province for Pilar, Camotes Island in Cebu at past noon yesterday.
PO3 Francis Comahig of the Philippine Coast Guard-Eastern Visayas said the rescued passengers were brought to the Ormoc District Hospital, Ormoc City Hospital and the Ospa Farmers Medical Center.
Among those rescued was Pilar Municipal Councilor Willou Angus.
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Not that rough
Pilar Mayor Jesus “Jet” Fernandez said the majority of the passengers were his constituents.
Zurita said he was supposed to ask someone headed to Poro to buy a birthday cake for his wife, who is celebrating her birthday today.
READ: Pilar mayor’s secretary, teachers among victims
Instead, he and the other people in the port stood helplessly while the passengers tried to save themselves.
“Kita kaayo namo to’ng diha sa ibabaw nga nangambak. Ang mga tawo sa pantalan igo lang nanyagit kay wa man gyod mi mahimo. Ako, mura kog kandila nga gi-ugbok, wa ko makatuo nga mahitabo to sa among atubangan (We saw the people jump out. The people in the pier can only scream because we can’t do anything. I was like a candle that got put out, I didn’t believe that something happened in front of me),” Zurita said.
Asked if the weather was really bad, Comahig said the sea was not that rough.
Inundated
He said it’s possible that the crew erred when the vessel maneuvered at the port.
“Parang na-out balance iyong motorboat kasi pag-ikot niya, lumakas kaagad yong speed niya at tumaob (It looked like the motorboat got out-balanced because when it turned around, it sped up and then capsized),” Comahig said.
The motorboat Esperanza which was scheduled to sail for Poro at 1 p.m., immediately went to the site to rescue the passengers followed by the Coast Guard vessels.
Zurita believed that those who died were the passengers inside the boat. He said MB Kim Nirvana-B was a two-story boat.
“They may have been inundated by the sacks of cement and rice stored in the boat,” he said.
READ: Pilar survivors scared to ride vessel home | Human error and overloading may be behind mishap | ‘Why no life vests for the passengers?’
Overloading
Julius Regner, information officer of the Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said some survivors claimed that the accident could have been caused by overloading of passengers and cargo and the rough seas.
Regner said it was also possible that the number of passengers had exceeded the boat’s capacity.
But seawoman 1st Class Ermelyn Laude of the Philippine Coast Guard-Ormoc City said the boat can accommodate 178 passengers and the passenger manifest showed the vessel carried 173 passengers.
A TV report showed there were 16 crew members. The crew was headed by its skipper Warren Oliverio who survived the accident. The boat was owned by Joge Bong Zarco.
Assistance
Pilar Mayor Jesus “Jet” Fernandez said there were three motorboats plying the Camotes-Ormoc route.
But only the MB Kim Nirvana-B sailed yesterday because the other boats had minor problems.
Fernandez said he would wait for the results of the Coast Guard investigation while his office coordinates with Ormoc City authorities to repatriate the bodies and transport the survivors to their towns.
Fernandez said his town will also extend financial assistance to the victims. The mayor said he also talked to Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III and Rep. Ace Durano of Cebu’s 5th district who assured their assistance to the victims.
Canceled
The Naval Forces Central also sent a rescue vessel with five divers to the area to help in the search and rescue operation.
Ciriaco Toliboa II, of the Ormoc City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, said 21 persons remain confined in hospitals in Ormoc City while 32 persons were admitted to the outpatient section and allowed to go home.
About 54 other survivors were accommodated at the Supercat terminal in Ormoc City for debriefing. Toliboa said sea travel from Ormoc to Camotes Island would take about four to five hours.
Earlier yesterday, the fast craft Ocean Jet canceled a trip to Tagbilaran City in Bohol province because of huge waves at the Cebu ports.
Philippine Coast Guard-Cebu Commander Weniel Azcuna said the fast craft carried 107 passengers and was supposed to leave the ports of Cebu at 11:40 a.m.
“While there is no mandatory cancellation of trips, it is up to the ship captains to assess if it was safe for them to sail,” he said.
Oscar Tabada, Pagasa Visayas head, said northerly or habagat winds measuring 57 kph and the low pressure area affecting Bicol region caused the huge waves that capsized MB Nirvana-B.
“This wind would bring huge waves. The waves are bigger in the open sea. It’s not advisable for bancas to travel,” he said.
The strong waves forced fast crafts to cancel their trips, stranding 212 passengers in Cebu ports.
These passengers were mostly headed to Tagbilaran City, Ormoc City , Bantayan Island and San Carlos City in Negros Occidental, the Coast Guard said.
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