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MANILA, Philippines—The order to abandon ship came too late, turning a storm-tossed sea into a graveyard for hundreds of people aboard the ill-starred MV Princess of the Stars.
“The ship was already heavily tilted to the left,” said Susan Lisbo, when the ship captain sounded the alarm as Typhoon “Frank” (international codename: Fengshen) swept across the Philippines, unleashing monstrous waves and violent winds that sank the ferry with 849 passengers and crewmen aboard on Saturday.
The order from Capt. Florencio Marimon came “too late,” said Lisbo, one of 28 survivors who clung to a lifeboat that miraculously drifted to the coastal village of Ibabang Yuni in Mulanay town in Quezon province, at around 9 a.m. on Sunday.
At least 29 others were reported to have been found alive, bringing to 57 the total number of survivors recovered, according to the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC). Another 20 were reported to have died from the ferry sinking.
A list of survivors as well as the manifest of the ill-fated ferry is also available at the Sulpicio Lines website Error! Hyperlink reference not valid..
Lisbo, a resident of Novaliches, Quezon City, was interviewed Monday by the Philippine Daily Inquirer at the Quezon Medical Center in Lucena City, where she underwent a medical checkup.
The 23,000-ton ferry MV Princess of the Stars, owned by Sulpicio Lines, sailed from Manila on Friday on a 22-hour trip to Cebu City. The ferry capsized off Sibuyan Island in the central province of Romblon on Saturday evening.
Lisbo recalled that less than an hour before the announcement to abandon the ship, she already sensed that something was wrong.
“The ship was tilted and no longer returning to its natural floating position. I sensed that something was wrong. It was now different,” she said nearly in tears as she recalled the last painful moments aboard the ferry.
Then she heard a voice from the public address system: “Watchmen, watchmen, please proceed to the bridge!”
Shortly thereafter, Lisbo said, she heard a commotion and shouting of passengers from all over the ship.
“There was no announcement yet to abandon the ship but we were already focused to go straight to the exit to secure our safety, wearing our life jackets,” she said.
‘I never lost hope’
When the call to abandon ship was finally given at about noontime Saturday, she saw her cousin Editha Ybañez jump first but her back hit the steel railings.
Afraid that she might also suffer the same fate, Lisbo said she waited for the water to reach her level before she made the jump and joined other survivors aboard life rafts.
“I don’t know where my cousin is. I pray that she’s also safe elsewhere,” she said.
Earlier, Susan’s mother, Socorro, arrived at the Quezon police headquarters with her kin.
She said Susan was with Editha who had just arrived from Saipan on their way to Surigao and just wanted to drop by Cebu to visit Editha’s brother,” she said.
“When I heard the news over the radio that my daughter was among the survivors in Quezon, I knelt in deep prayer and thanked the Lord. I never lost hope that she’s safe and alive,” she said.
‘We prayed to all saints’
For Ciriaco Nuñez of Cebu, the harrowing experience was a testament of God’s miraculous way.
“We prayed to all saints in heaven,” he said as his wife Cathy hugged him in tight embrace, crying in joy.
Nuñez said he and the others were not rescued by fishermen or anybody else.
“The wind miraculously carried our life raft to the coastline,” he said.
Unfortunately, as they were nearing the shore, Nuñez said the lifeboat overturned and threw them all in the water.
“One of the male survivors removed his life jacket, apparently with the intention to swim to the shore. But unfortunately, he did not make it and drowned,” he said.
One of their companions aboard the life raft went missing after the incident.
The body of the still unidentified casualty was left in Mulanay, according to Nuñez.
He said he did not know what happened to the ship.
“There was nothing wrong with the ship. The engine was still running. But it was really being battered by strong winds and rains,” Nuñez said.
Estanislao Tora Jr., the ship steward, said the ferry did not hit anything solid or run aground.
“The wind was so strong and water was already seeping to the left side, causing the ship to tilt,” he said. “When I heard the abandon the ship call, I put on my life jacket and prepared the nearest life raft for the safety of the passengers,” he said.
For brothers Exuperto and Jonathan Pendon, the harrowing ordeal strengthened their bond.
“I thought I already lost my brother when we both jumped out of the ship. Thank God, he’s also alive and safe,” Exuperto said, looking at his brother Jonathan nearby.
Exuperto said that when he safely made it to the life raft, he immediately scoured the area searching for his brother, only to find him clinging to one side of the raft. “I immediately grabbed his arm and pulled him to the raft,” he recalled.
The group of survivors arrived at the Quezon Medical Center in a convoy of six vans escorted by a police patrol vehicle from Mulanay town at about 3 p.m.
Life vests saved 4
Four other survivors were ferried by a helicopter bearing the presidential seal at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City at 6:18 p.m. Monday, bearing fresh memories of their ordeal.
The Philippine Air Force Search and Rescue Group flew the survivors to Manila from communities around San Fernando on Sibuyan Island, where they had separately touched land after hours of clinging to their life vests.
Jesus Gica braved five hours of uncertainty in chilly waters as he prayed for the tide to sweep him ashore. He finally did at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, more than five hours since jumping off the ferry before it sank.
“There were many of us floating, there were many people outside and I saw that many people panicked, most were the elderly ... I did not see my companions anymore. When I got out, the wind was really strong,” said Gica, a driver who was traveling to Cebu with four co-workers when the incident happened.
He relied on his life vest to reach land, rolled onto the shore, then held on to a rock so he would not be swept away again. Residents found him shortly after.
Many trapped inside
Jessie Buot, 24, said he believed many others were trapped inside the ship when it quickly sank around noon Saturday.
“They’re dead. There were many trapped inside, they were afraid to go out because the winds and waves were too strong,” Buot told reporters.
He said he never let go of his life vest as he paddled his way to shore.
Gica and Buot, with Renato Lanurias, 35, and Oliver Amorin, 31, were brought to the PAF General Hospital inside the air base for a checkup.
Capt. Leah Santiago, an Army spokesperson, said five people were picked up by fishermen off Burias Island and another floated ashore on debris after surviving two days in stormy seas.
Nolan Toroban reached land at Agtiwal village on Sibuyan Island, battered and bruised by his ordeal, Santiago said. “He told me he was with six people who jumped overboard as the ferry capsized. But he was the only one to have survived,” she said.
“Nolan estimated there were more than 100 others jumping from the other side. They wore life vests but he said he has no idea what happened to them,” Santiago said. With a report from Agence France-Presse
