BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The family of a missing Negrense sailor is refusing to give up hope of finding him alive. His ship sank off the coast of Japan earlier this week.
Margarita Payas, mother of 32-year-old Andren, said her son’s wife Justine Marie last made contact with her husband on the evening of Sept. 1.
Justine said her husband told her the sea was rough, the waves as high as buildings.
Andren also told his wife they had to tie down some of their equipment to keep them from shifting and that he had no plan of further extending his job contract.
By Sept. 2, Andren and his close crew mates could no longer be contacted. His family learned his ship had sunk.
Margarita, suffering from stage-3 colon cancer, had been losing sleep these past few nights, anxious for news on Andren. She had last contacted her son during her birthday last month. Her son sent money to the family for a small birthday celebration.
Based on the initial information provided by the Japan Coast Guard, the ship Gulf Livestock 1 sent a distress signal before sinking off the coast of Amami Oshima Island in the Ryukyu islands chain in Japan after being caught in a typhoon with the international name “Maysak.”
The ship, a livestock carrier, was loaded with almost 6,000 cattle and was headed for China. It was crewed by 39 Filipino sailors, two from New Zealand and two from Australia.
As of Sept. 4, only one Filipino sailor identified as Eduardo Sareno, was rescued by the Japan Coast Guard.
According to Sareno, the ship was hit by a huge wave.
Authorities in Japan said search and rescue operations are still ongoing./PN
