Five missing as cargo ship sinks off Sorsogon

Search and rescue operations continued Friday for five crewmembers of a cargo ship which sank in the San Bernardino Strait off the coasts of Bulusan and Matnog, Sorsogon.

The missing persons were part of the 19-man crew of the LCT Don Wilfredo, which capsized and then sank after being battered by giant waves and strong winds on its way to Legazpi City, said Superintendent Edgardo Ardales, operations chief of the Sorsogon Police Provincial Office. He said the 996-gross-ton vessel, owned by the Candano Shipping Line based in Legazpi City, was loaded with 780 palettes of San Miguel Beer from Mandaue City. Ardales identified the missing as boat captain Nathaniel Latorena, Jose Ordaneta of Cotabato City, Rey Catubuan of Roxas City, Rommel Espinosa of Mindanao, and Jervy Palad of Pampanga. The other 15 crewmembers were rescued by local anglers and police personnel in the towns of Matnog, Bulusan and Barcelon, he said. The vessel left Samar at around noon of Wednesday but when it reached the San Bernardino Strait past noon Thursday, its port side started to list due to huge waves.
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