Almost 900 stranded in Central Visayas ports

Almost 900 passengers were stranded in different ports in Central Visayas yesterday as they waited for the waves to calm down.

The Coast Guard grounded vessels  below 250 gross tonnage from sailing because of rough seas affecting the Visayas seaboards.

A gale warning issued yesterday at 5 a.m.  by the weather bureau Pagasa said  tropical storm Egay has enhanced the strong to gale-force winds associated with the southwest monsoon or habagat.

Twenty five vessels, including 5 motorized boats, voluntarily cancelled their trips.

Meanwhile, 12  fishermen were rescued while 7 others remain missing after their small boats capsized off north Cebu.

The 12 fishermen were on a small motorized banca that capsized near the Alpine wharf in Kawit, Medellin town at about 1:45 p.m. yesterday, said Medellin municipal planning officer Giles Anthony Villamor.They were rescued by another pumpboat in the area.

Villamor said they were on their way to a bigger fishing boat nnchored some 200 meters from the shore when big waves battered their banca.

Farther north, seven7 fishermen from Negros Occidental went  missing.

They were heading home after fishing in Masbate when their boat, Inday Sweet, reportedly capsized between Madridejos in Bantayan Island, Cebu and Gigantes group of islands in Panay at 5:30 pm on Thursday.

Cebu Coast Guard Station commander Weniel Azcuna said they could not send a rescue vessel to the area because of the rough seas. The Coast Guard  sent out radio alerts to several vessels passing the area to watch out for the missing  fishermen.

Emie Gabito, former municipal councilor of Madridejos town, identified the missing fishermen as skipper Johnrey Vergara, and crewmen Antic Celeste, Gerry Bangalisan, Norberto Patriarca, a certain Jomar, Abel and Jimbol.

Gabito said one of the fishermen was able to contact a relative to say they were clinging to the capsized boat waiting for rescue.

As of yesterday afternoon, she said the boat’s owner, Ana Mae Claro, has sent out other boats to rescue the fishermen.

Disaster kits have been distributed to  police stations as part of preparations for storm Egay.

Supt. Melbert Glade Esguerra, head of the Cebu City Public Safety Company, urged the public to prepare their own  disaster kits and strengthen their houses.

“Food, water, sealed documents should be in kits. Just because the storm wasn’t forecast to to pass Cebu City doesn’t mean we don’t prepare,” Esguerra said. /With UP Cebu Intern Juli Ann M. Sibi