Quote:

 

9 Filipinos didn’t lose hope in Baltic Sea

By Nikko Dizon
Inquirer
Last updated 03:39am (Mla time) 11/07/2006

Published on page A1 of the November 7, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

FILIPINO SEAMAN Ephraim Torre recalled urging his colleague, Danilo Paras, to hang on to their raft after their cargo freighter, the MV Finnbirch, sank in the icy Baltic Sea on Nov. 1.

But Paras was barely breathing and was telling him in Filipino, “I can’t take it anymore.”

Torre, 47, was on the life raft, while Paras and a Swedish crew mate were hanging on to its side.

“I tried to get him in with me but he was too heavy,” Torre told the Inquirer on his arrival in Manila on Sunday night. He said he urged Paras to hold on and not to lose hope. But Paras was unable to hang on.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said that Paras succumbed to hypothermia hours after he was rescued and admitted to a Swedish hospital. But Torre said he believed that his colleague was already dead while they were at sea.

Paras was one of the last crew members to be rescued and the only Filipino to die after their freighter went down between Sweden and Norway in bad weather while en route from Helsinki, Finland, to Aarhus, Denmark.

At 52, Paras was the oldest among the Filipino crew members. He worked in the ship as an AB, or able seaman. Torre said a Swedish national had also died.

Late Sunday night, Torre arrived with his fellow Filipinos who survived the ordeal -- Gerry Dupo, Gilbert Salido, Benedicto Agngarayngay, Manuel Barcelona, Rolando Esguerra, Leo Jose Talipe, Jose Noel Saquilayan and Wilfredo Ramos.

The Filipinos and the cargo ship’s other Swedish crew members were plucked from the sea by Swedish authorities nearly an hour after their ship sank. “The choppers couldn’t get to us right away because the winds were also strong,” Torre said.

He wasn’t supposed to sail

What made Paras’ death doubly painful for his colleagues was that he was not even supposed to be on the ship. His contract had ended. But his Filipino reliever was unable to leave the Philippines because of a storm, said Dupo, 43.

Dupo said he was having supper with Paras on the ship when it suddenly turned on its side.

The sharp movement threw Dupo hard against the inside of the ship. He showed a large purplish bruise on his right arm to reporters.

There was frost nip on the tip of his fingers. “The water was so cold, I thought I could no longer breathe,” Dupo said.

RP Embassy assistance

The crewmen were all struggling inside the freighter for some five hours before it finally went under. They were in the water for more than an hour, battling strong waves and the frosty sea as they waited to be rescued.

Snow had also begun to fall.

Finally at the hospital, Torre said he was grateful for the assistance extended by the Philippine Embassy staff in Sweden.

Torre, the ship’s second engineer, said that it was the first time in his 25 years as a seaman that his ship sank. It was a traumatic experience, the Iloilo native said, but still it won’t hinder him from working as a seaman.

“This is my bread and butter,” he said.

But Dupo is contemplating whether or not to return to the sea. He has been working as a seaman for 18 years and this was his second mishap. In 1999, the ship he was working on sank in Malaysia.

Dupo sighed and said he did not think he would sail again.

Quote:

 

It said the Hong Kong Maritime Rescue Center had asked for clearance to join the search for the missing crewmen of the Panamanian-registered ship MV Unicorn Ace, which sank about 80 kilometers (50 miles) off Curimao, Coast Guard officer Amado Lorenzana said.

saver111

Nov 7 2006, 05:07 PM

Quote:

 

9 Filipinos didn’t lose hope in Baltic Sea

By Nikko Dizon
Inquirer
Last updated 03:39am (Mla time) 11/07/2006

Published on page A1 of the November 7, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

FILIPINO SEAMAN Ephraim Torre recalled urging his colleague, Danilo Paras, to hang on to their raft after their cargo freighter, the MV Finnbirch, sank in the icy Baltic Sea on Nov. 1.

But Paras was barely breathing and was telling him in Filipino, “I can’t take it anymore.”

Torre, 47, was on the life raft, while Paras and a Swedish crew mate were hanging on to its side.

“I tried to get him in with me but he was too heavy,” Torre told the Inquirer on his arrival in Manila on Sunday night. He said he urged Paras to hold on and not to lose hope. But Paras was unable to hang on.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said that Paras succumbed to hypothermia hours after he was rescued and admitted to a Swedish hospital. But Torre said he believed that his colleague was already dead while they were at sea.

Paras was one of the last crew members to be rescued and the only Filipino to die after their freighter went down between Sweden and Norway in bad weather while en route from Helsinki, Finland, to Aarhus, Denmark.

At 52, Paras was the oldest among the Filipino crew members. He worked in the ship as an AB, or able seaman. Torre said a Swedish national had also died.

Late Sunday night, Torre arrived with his fellow Filipinos who survived the ordeal -- Gerry Dupo, Gilbert Salido, Benedicto Agngarayngay, Manuel Barcelona, Rolando Esguerra, Leo Jose Talipe, Jose Noel Saquilayan and Wilfredo Ramos.

The Filipinos and the cargo ship’s other Swedish crew members were plucked from the sea by Swedish authorities nearly an hour after their ship sank. “The choppers couldn’t get to us right away because the winds were also strong,” Torre said.

He wasn’t supposed to sail

What made Paras’ death doubly painful for his colleagues was that he was not even supposed to be on the ship. His contract had ended. But his Filipino reliever was unable to leave the Philippines because of a storm, said Dupo, 43.

Dupo said he was having supper with Paras on the ship when it suddenly turned on its side.

The sharp movement threw Dupo hard against the inside of the ship. He showed a large purplish bruise on his right arm to reporters.

There was frost nip on the tip of his fingers. “The water was so cold, I thought I could no longer breathe,” Dupo said.

RP Embassy assistance

The crewmen were all struggling inside the freighter for some five hours before it finally went under. They were in the water for more than an hour, battling strong waves and the frosty sea as they waited to be rescued.

Snow had also begun to fall.

Finally at the hospital, Torre said he was grateful for the assistance extended by the Philippine Embassy staff in Sweden.

Torre, the ship’s second engineer, said that it was the first time in his 25 years as a seaman that his ship sank. It was a traumatic experience, the Iloilo native said, but still it won’t hinder him from working as a seaman.

“This is my bread and butter,” he said.

But Dupo is contemplating whether or not to return to the sea. He has been working as a seaman for 18 years and this was his second mishap. In 1999, the ship he was working on sank in Malaysia.

Dupo sighed and said he did not think he would sail again.

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