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By CCTV correspondent Barnaby Lo
In the wake of Typhoon Bopha, search and rescue efforts in the Philippines have expanded from land to sea. Some 300 fishermen have been reported missing.
It was as if nothing had happened here; it was, as they would say, the calm after the storm. But these fishermen have been scouring these waters for days trying to locate the dozens of tuna fishing vessels that were supposedly stationed here and their friends - 300 fishermen who would’ve been working in those vessels.
Jesus Paghubasan, captain of LPS Fishing Co. said,"All we could find was a gas tank for cooking. No one from our company has been found - dead or alive. "
Barnaby Lo, Pacific Ocean, said,"It took us almost 20 hours to get here to the so-called high seas in the Pacific Ocean, outside the Philippines’ territorial waters. This was where the 300 fishermen were believed to have been fishing when Typhoon Bopha struck Southern Philippines. We traveled with the Philippine Navy here, hoping to find survivors, but so far we haven’t found any, not even a dead body. "
There have been a handful of survivors, including half a dozen of Capt. Pablito Alajas’ men. But it’s becoming harder and harder to find the hundreds more who are still missing, and as days pass, hope is also fading.
Pablito Alajas, captain of Rugela Fishing Co. said,"It’s painful to think that we’ve lost them. We’ve been trying our best to find them all, but it looks like most of them are gone."
Commander Juan Iligan, Philippine Navy, said,"Most of the weather disturbances here in the Philippines are not affecting this area, so probably they disregarded the warnings."
Unexpected - is what hundreds of thousands of survivors in Compostela Valley would describe the trail of death and destruction Typhoon Bopha left. And even with relief and aid slowly trickling in, residents have been begging for help.
Rosemarie Discaya, survivor, said,"Look at my feet, they hurt so much, but I had to walk all the way here just to put food on the table, SHE SAYS"
A story that has become all too familiar here but for the hundreds who remain missing, their stories are forever buried under this rubble or under this vast ocean."
中国公共新闻摘编：GAN JADE |
