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By Ma. Ester L. Espina, Correspondent
BACOLOD CITY: A man from Negros Occidental has
captivated local media with a story about a dolphin that died trying
to save his fellow fisherman from drowning after their boat sank
during the onslaught of Typhoon Frank.
Roberto Caratao and Joseph Cesdorio were among
the fishermen aboard F/B Nicole Louise 2 over the weekend.
When the boat sank somewhere in the Visayan Sea,
Caratao said he survived by clinging to the side of a raft, others
by grabbing onto whatever floated.
Caratao said he saw a dolphin, which was about
the size of an adult human, drag and push Cesdorio, 34, toward
Burias Island.
Unfortunately, neither Cesdorio nor the dolphin
survived, he added.
Cesdorio was among the 24 fishermen from Negros
Occidental who were confirmed dead by local authorities, bringing
the death toll in the province to 34. The Philippine Coast Guard
also reported founding 135 typhoon survivors, some of whom were
already reunited with their families.
After the storm, local residents found the dead
bodies of Cesdorio and the dolphin, which were buried on the island.
But the owner of the fishing boat that sank, Alan Daniel, later had
the bodies of Cesdorio and four other fishermen who died to be
exhumed and brought back to their families.
The story of the dolphin’s heroism was
corroborated by other survivors who were aboard the Nicole Louise 2.
One of them told local radio reporters that because of what he
witnessed, he vowed never to eat dolphin meat again.
Local fishing boat owners continue to dispatch
other vessels toward the Visayan Sea, where there are reported
sightings of survivors out at sea.
Authorities said there are still 110 persons on
their missing-persons list, and they hope they will continue to find
survivors in the coming days.
More than 490 people across the Philippines have
died and at least a million others were left homeless by Typhoon
Frank. The death toll does not include those who perished in the MV
Princess of the Stars, which capsized off Sibuyan Island on Saturday
with about 850 people aboard.
-- With AFP
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