Philippine Navy ship rescues adrift Indonesian fisherman

The Philippine Navy and some Good Samaritans came to the aid of an Indonesian fisherman who had been adrift for seven days after his boat suffered engine failure.

On Tuesday, May 24, the crew of the landing platform dock BRP Tarlac were participating in an exercise off Davao Occidental province when they received a distress call from a nearby commercial fishing vessel.

The crew of the fishing vessel said they had sighted a small drifting boat with one individual on board.

Tarlac then sailed to the area where the fishing boat was spotted. The boat and its lone occupant, who has been identified as a 50-year-old Indonesian male, were then brought aboard the larger navy ship.

The rescued fisherman said he had sailed out of Talaud in North Sulawesi province to fish in nearby waters. However, engine failure had caused his boat to drift until he ended up off the coast of Davao Occidental on the southern island of Mindanao.

The survivor and his boat were later transferred to a navy patrol boat for eventual hand-over to Indonesian authorities.