For over an hour, 11 fisherman from the mainland swam towards the shore of a Pandan barangay after strong waves destroyed their motorized banca in the Pacific Ocean last Dec. 26, 2021.
A citizen later called the Pandan police station to report their presence at sitio Carbao, barangay Oga, with the police, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRMMO) and the Pandan local government to proceed to the area.
The report identified those rescued as Helbert Rodriguez, 38, and Raniel Apolinario, 36, both of Mercedes, Daet, Camarines Norte; Dennis Apolinario, 45, Jeric Balcena, 21, Junyses Daval, 32, Orlando Rosas, 31, Domingo Tumiqui, 50, Paul Allen Ecleo, 22, Christopher Yumol, 41, Dennis Padilla, 26, and John Ruel Banzuela, 26, all of Bacacay, Albay.
They said that their motorized banca capsized at 8 PM that night, with huge waves and strong winds battering the vessel until it was destroyed, forcing them to swim to the nearby land,
The fishermen all sustained wounds in the different parts of their bodies, with Raniel Apolinario suffering a wound on his stomach that was caused by broken glass.