Passenger jumps to death from Roro vessel

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – A male passenger died after he reportedly jumped into the sea from a Roll on-Roll off (Roro) vessel at the Bacolod Real Estate Development Corp. (Bredco) port in Barangay 10 here yesterday.

Daily Guardian withheld the name of the 34-year-old victim, a resident of Molo, Iloilo.

According to Commander Joe Luviz Mercurio, head of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)-northern Negros Occidental, the victim boarded the vessel that was bound for Dumangas, Iloilo around 12:20 p.m.

Mercurio said that upon receiving information on the incident, Coast Guard personnel immediately conducted search and rescue operation.

But the victim was declared dead by the rescuers.

According to Sanie Ong, one of the passengers of the vessel, he was inside the comfort room when he heard a loud sound on top of the vessel.

Upon checking, he saw the victim hanging. At first, he thought that the victim was a crew repairing a part of the vessel, Ong said in a Facebook post.

Ong posted a portion of the video on Facebook, when the man was already on the sea, while other passengers tried to look for help.

Meanwhile, Mercurio said the victim was suffering from depression or nervous breakdown, citing the statement of his relative.

His uncle even prevented him from jumping, but the victim allegedly insisted.