(UPDATE) A PHILIPPINE-FLAGGED cargo ship sank off the waters of Northern Samar, leaving one crew member dead and five others missing, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Tuesday.
The 31-year-old MV Jerlyn Khatness was taken down by big waves in the San Bernardino Strait off the island of Samar on Monday, with passing vessels rescuing 11 of the 15 crew members overnight, Coast Guard station commander Bryhl Amay told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
After more than 25 hours in the water, another crew member managed to swim ashore to the tiny island of San Juan before dawn Tuesday. Fishermen retrieved the body of another crew member off the island of Biri, Amay added.
A search for the two still missing crew members was under way Tuesday, Amay said.
“The vessel departed from Naga City, Cebu, and was en route to San Jose, Northern Samar, when it encountered rough sea conditions, resulting in submersion after being struck by large waves,” the PCG Northern Samar station said in its early Tuesday update shared on Facebook.
The vessel was ferrying 24 tons of cement to Samar from the central island of Cebu.
The official could not immediately provide other details about the sunken vessel, which a tracking website described as a 199-ton general cargo ship built in 1993.
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