FIVE crewmen were killed after an explosion rocked their boat and set it on fire while it was docked on Monday night in a pier in Zamboanga City.
Lt. Cmdr. Alvin Dagalea, commander of the Coast Guard Station in Zamboanga, said the bodies of the crewmen of ML Satellite were recovered on Tuesday morning by Coast Guard personnel.
Four others were injured, while three others escaped unscathed.
Dagalea said the Satellite was refueling while docked at the Bengo Wharf in Zamboanga City when it was hit by an explosion before it caught ablaze past 8 p.m. The motor launch was carrying no passengers at the time of the explosion. Its 12 crewmen were onboard. Dagalea said authorities were still investigating the incident.
Meanwhile, Laurencio Tiro, chief engineer of the Supershuttle Roro 9 tugboat, was rescued on Monday night in Basilan from the hands of the Abu Sayyaf Group.
Tiro was “rescued and recovered” along the shorelines of Sitio Sasa, Barangay Basakan, Hadji Mohammad Ajul, Basilan at around 10:30 p.m. by members of the Army’s 4th Special Forces Battalion under Lt. Col. Andrew Bacala and the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team.
Capt. Jo-ann Petinglay, spokesman of the Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command, said the recovery of the kidnap victim was a result of four days of extensive operations by the Joint Task Force Basilan.
Tiro was escorted to the headquarters of the 19th Special Forces Company at Barangay Dancalan, Lamitan City where a medical team was waiting. He was subsequently brought to the headquarters of the Western Mindanao command on Tuesday morning.
Tiro was kidnapped along with Aurelio Agac-ac, captain of the Super Shuttle T/B 1 under the Asian Marine Transport, from their vessel last March 23 in the waters of Sibago Island, Basilan by members of the ASG.