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By Katrice R. Jalbuena, Reporter
A crewmember of a Panamanian
cargo ship was killed and two were still missing after the vessel
sank off Curimao Island in Ilocos Norte Wednesday morning.
Coast Guard spokesman, Lt. Sgt.
Armado Balilo, said responding Coast Guardsmen rescued 16 of the 19
crewmembers of the Unicorn Ace.
Bello said the Coast Guard
commandant, Vice Adm. Damian Carlos, had ordered helicopters and
rescue vessels to search for the two missing crewmen.
Balilo said the Coast Guard
received reports from the Hong Kong Maritime Rescue Center that the
Unicorn Ace sank about 50 miles off Curimao around 9 a.m. The
maritime center asked permission from the Coast Guard office in
Manila to join in the rescue operation.
Members of the Coast Guard
Aviation Group and the Navy stationed near the area were also helped
in saving the stricken crew.
The exact location where the
vessel sank and the cause of the sinking have not been determined.
It was not clear what the vessel
was carrying, Balilo said. The identities and nationalities of the
crew are still being verified, he added.
On Tuesday a fishing boat
capsized off Surigao del Norte, resulting in the death of one of its
crew.
The boat, Samaru 9, with three
crewmembers, had experienced engine trouble and was overcome by
strong currents in Bilisan Point.
The Coast Guard station in
Surigao found the boat four nautical miles from the shore of
Barangay Mabini, Cagdianao, in Surigao del Norte. Rescuers recovered
the body of the drowned crewman.
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