THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported Saturday that two Chinese fishermen were found dead while two others were rescued off Palawan’s coastal waters.
On August 5, Filipino fisherman, Mario Mabuhay, saw four Chinese fishermen on board a rescue boat.
Learning that two of the Chinese were dead, Mabuhay dragged the boat until the shore and sought for immediate assistance.
“He carefully towed the rescue boat towards the shoreline of Barangay Canipaan and immediately coordinated with the barangay officials for further assistance,” the PCG stated.
Police Major Starky Timbancaya of Rizal said that the municipal authorities received an alert, around 4 p.m. on the same day, regarding a rubber boat off Barangay Canipaan in Rizal, Palawan.
However, the municipality could not conduct a rescue operation due to limited resources and lack of manpower, so they sought assistance from the neighboring municipality, Bataraza, for help.
The fishermen were then rushed to Bataraza District Hospital where the two survivors received medical treatment.
Weeks after Typhoon “Fabian” left the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), southwest monsoon still brought heavy rains and strong winds, indicating that the fishermen may have encountered bad weather.
“They were conducting fishing venture when they were drifted towards the vicinity waters off west Palawan due to rough sea condition and strong waves,” the PCG narrated.
Timbancaya further reported that one of the two fatalities do not know how to swim, which led to his drowning. His companions, however, managed to get him off of the water and put him on the rubber boat.
“The other was believed to have been hit by debris from their battered fishing boat because he bled in the nose and ear before he died,” Timbancaya added.
Upon investigation, the survivors were identified as Lu Yunian, a 39-year-old boat captain, and Fu Wanke, a 40-year-old crew member, both natives of Hainan, China.
The survivors struggled but managed to name themselves and their two fellow fishermen who died by writing in Chinese, and were later identified as Li Bang Lai and Qin Tong.
In a statement uploaded on Twitter, Friday, the Chinese Embassy expressed its gratitude to Filipino fishermen and local officials for the guidance and help extended to their countrymen.
“The Chinese Embassy expressed its deep appreciation to the Philippine fishermen and authorities concerned for providing humanitarian assistance to the Chinese fishermen in timely manner, which fully reflects their goodwill and the valuable friendship between the Chinese and Philippine peoples,” the Embassy wrote.