PH Coast Guard retrieves 4 bodies, including Indonesian’s

MANILA, Philippines – Rescuers from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) have retrieved 4 bodies from waters in various areas in Luzon since Friday, November 7.

The latest victim – an Indonesian sea farer identified as Adi Kurina Hidayat, 21 – was fished out by the Special Operations Unit of Port State Control Manila on Monday, November 10.

The PCG said Hidayat was a crew member of TB Bewani I, an Indonesian-registered vessel, and went overboard his ship while it was docked at the Manila Port to disembrark cargo logs.

The other victims were identified by the PCG as 13-year-old Erica Jane Libres, Elmer Florendo, Tiago Benia, and .

Libres drowned in Agno River in Pangasinan on Friday while swimming with several companions. Personnel of Coast Guard Station Sual and SOU-North Western Luzon recovered her body 20 feet deep into the sea. Her companions were believed to have drowned as well.

On the same day in Batangas, the Special Operations Unit (SOU)-Southern Tagalog found the body of Florendo “20 feet underwater of Batangas Pier” after he reportedly jumped off Ramp No. 6 at the pier.

In Iloilo, rescuers retrieved on Friday the body of Benia, who “suffered from hypertension and fell overboard while fishing,”  the PCG said.

The latest incidents were reported days after the PCG revealed that suicide cases among ship passengers were rising. – Rappler.com 

Sea image via Shutterstock