Mindanaotoday.com | MisOcc town mom, girl rescued after 3 days at sea
By: Uriel Quilinguing
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – A mother and daughter from Jimenez town, Misamis Occidental, who were reported missing after their house was engulfed by floodwaters dawn of Christmas day, were rescued by fishermen Tuesday (Dec. 27) while drifting along the coastal waters of Lanao del Norte.
But the search and rescue operation is not over – the head of family has not been found yet, according to the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) of Jimenez.
Earlier, the MDRRMO had listed three missing persons: Ronilo Abastas, 39, Cristelyn (Lomo) Abastas, 39, and Crystal Bella Abastas, 3, all residents of Area 6, Tabo-o village in the said town.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday (Dec. 28), Cristelyn thanked Rico Martinez of Barangay Palilan and two other fishermen, whom she described as God-sent angels, for securing her and her daughter’s lives.
In another Facebook post, Rohane Lomo Dairo revealed “miraculous” instances, as narrated by her sister.
Amid darkness just past midnight on Sunday, her sister and niece were on a detached wall from their house and that brought them to the sea.
And just when the house-wall was about to sink, an outrigger of a banca (dugout canoe) bumped into them.
After two days of being buffeted by sea waves and drenched by intermittent rain, it was only on Tuesday morning when Crystal asked for water and food.
Her mom instructed her to open her mouth and look up so as to catch rainwater.
But to Cristelyn’s surprise, a “kutob” fish jumped into the “banca” which she grabbed, and both of them ate it raw.
Minutes later, they saw a “botong” (young coconut) floating. Cristelyn used her teeth to unhusk, hit it hard with a wooden stick for its shell to give in, and, finally, sip its thirst-quenching water.
Not too long after, the rescuers came.
Martinez was actually in search for his missing motorized pump boat when, from a mass of floating debris, somewhere in the coastal waters of Kauswagan and Bacolod towns of Lanao del Norte, he found the two missing persons.
With the assistance of two other fishermen whom Martinez contacted, more rescuers came, and the two flood survivors were brought ashore and eventually to the Jimenez Medicare Community Hospital. (MT)
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