RESCUED CREW. A total of 22 crew members were rescued when their barge, the LCI Pacifica I, sinks Friday morning (Feb. 10, 2023) off the coast of Punta Sili in Hinatuan Island, Surigao del Norte province due to big waves. The barge was carrying tons of quarried sand from Cabadbaran City, Agusan del Norte en route to Dapa in Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte at the time of the incident. (Photo courtesy of RPN DXKS Surigao)
BUTUAN CITY – Twenty-two crewmen of a commercial barge were rescued after their vessel carrying tons of sand sank off the coast of Punta Sili in Hinatuan Island, Surigao del Norte province on Friday morning.
The sea vessel was traveling from Cabadbaran City, Agusan del Norte, and was bound for Dapa town in Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte when the 6:00 a.m. incident occurred.
“We were in the area off the coast of Punta Sili when big waves hit our barge,” said Roberto Espina, the boat captain of LCT Pacifica I, in an interview with RPN DXKS radio station in Surigao City.
Espina said he immediately sent a distress signal and ordered all his crew to abandon the ship using two life rafts.
“The barge could no longer sustain the huge waves. When we were at a safe distance in two life rafts, we saw the huge waves overturn the barge,” he said.
Barely an hour after the incident, the crew members were rescued by a passing MV Reina Veronica of the Montenegro Shipping Lines and brought to the Bilang-Bilang Port in Surigao City. (PNA)
