n By Butch Gunio
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Saturday said a Filipino and a Chinese national were among the casualties after two foreign-flagged vessels collided in the waters off Corregidor Island.
According to authorities, the collision involved a dredger, MV Hong Hai 189, that originated from Botolan, Zambales, and an oil product tanker, MV Petite Souer, that came from Mariveles, Bataan.
The PCG said the Filipino who died was a safety officer onboard MV Hong Hai 189. It added that out of the 20 crew members of the ship, 15 of them were rescued, and three Chinese nationals are still missing.
From the 15 rescued, the PCG said four were Filipino nationals.
All 21 crew members of MV Petite Soeur were reported to be in good physical condition, the PCG said.
The PCG further said BRP Capones was directed to proceed to the incident area after they were informed that MV Hong Hai 189 capsized.
On Saturday, the PCG said it has dispatched another vessel, aluminum boats and rubber boats, and is currently conducting an aerial survey to heighten its SAR operations.
The PCG meanwhile reported that disaster responders in Lapu-Lapu City took about 10 hours to put out the fire in an abandoned vessel off the shores of Punta Engaño in Cebu.
The vessel, identified as MV Diamond Highway, caught fire at past 2pm yesterday and was declared fire out at past midnight on Saturday, ABS-CBN News reported.
Based on the PCG’s investigation, the vessel ran aground in the area during the onslaught of Typhoon Odette last December 2021, the report said.
“They were doing salvage operations up to the present,” Ltjg. Stephen Pagcaliwagan, spokesperson of PCG 7, said.
Responders used tugboats with firefighting capabilities along to put out the fire but had to temporarily stop “due to derangement of cooling supply of its water cannon,” Pagcaliwagan said.
The responders also had to wait for another boat, MTug. Aludra, which was the vessels’ sister ship for additional assistance to the incident.
According to Lapu-Lapu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office Chief Nagiel Bañacia, all 23 workers of MV Diamond Highway were rescued safely.
“The acetylene spilled and it fell on paint which caused the fire,” Bañacia said.
It was also the workers who asked for help as some were trapped at the top part of the vessel.
The Bureau of Fire Protection is still conducting a deeper probe to the cause of the incident, including the estimate of its damage.