Batangas, Philippines, 16 February2010. Three Filipinos have been reported dead after inhaling suspected poisonous fumes from a barge being repaired in Batangas.
The three Pinoy workers who were declared dead on arrival at the Bauan Doctors’ Hospital were identified as Jhunel Almogera, 40, Charmeil Allego, 23 and a certain Waray, 45. This was reported by the ABS-CBN News channel TFC on Wednesday, 17 February 2010.
They were said to be removing sand from the bottom of the barge docked at Barangay Sta. Maria wharf around 4:30pm when they reportedly inhaled chemical fumes while inside.
Three more who are lucky to be alive are still in hospital for treatment from suffocation. They are Gilberto Liverca, 29, Jayson Rodolfo, 28 and Roger De la Pena, 60.
Investigators are yet to determine the chemical that could have caused the death of the victims. The barge owner, a certain Nilo Bantugon, is undergoing investigation. This was further reported by the ABS-CBN News.
It is to be recalled that this barge was sent to this wharf last December 2009 for repair, as it was originally found stranded in the waters around Occidental Mindoro, according to the same news report.
Hundreds Evacuated in Batangas
As a result, residents from the four barangays in Bauan were evacuated. As of press time, a total of around 1,200 people have been moved from barangays Santa Maria, San Pedro, Baguilawa and San Miguel. The local government evacuated the residents to a school, which is located outside the 800-meter radius “danger area” possibly affected by the toxic fumes. This was gathered in a separate report at ABS-CBN’s online news website.