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Batanes fisherman found alive in Japan after drifting at sea for days


Ivatan fisherman Julio Balanoba had to rely on bananas, watermelon and rainwater for days to stay alive while drifting alone in rough seas north of the Philippines.

Balanoba, 48, was found alive this week off the coast of southern Japan after he was reported missing last August 11, Samuel Carrera of the Philippine Coast Guard in Batanes confirmed in a phone interview Wednesday. The Ivatans are the dominant ethnic group in Batanes.

The fisherman was on his way back to Basco in Batanes after fishing near the Babuyan Islands when his boat experienced engine trouble and got swept away by rough waters, Carrera said.

"Balanoba said his boat was taking in a lot of seawater due to the waves. He had to tie two plastic water containers to both sides of the banca to keep the banca afloat," Batanes Rep. Henedina R. Abad said in a text message to GMA News Online.

"I was able to trace him this morning in a hospital in Okinawa and spoke to him," she added. "Except for his leg injuries, which had been operated on, he sounded weak but fine and was anxious to see his family and return home."

Balanoba is currently being treated at the Yaeyama Hospital in Okinawa Prefecture, Carrera said.

Fruits for his wife

According to Abad, the fisherman related that he was heading back to Basco in Batanes after returning from a fishing trip down south, in the Babuyan Islands area, with other Ivatan fishermen when he experienced a problem with his boat.

Balanoba was already nearly the coast of Ivana town when his clothes got caught in the engine of his boat, injuring his legs and damaging the engine, which stalled. Strong winds and currents took him off course, pushing the boat away from Batan Islands and northward to the Ryukyu Islands chain in Japan, where he was rescued, Abad said.

Fortunately, the fisherman had brought bananas and watermelon from Babuyan that he was bringing home to his wife, Delia. He subsisted on the fruits and rainwater for a week before he was found, according to Abad.

She quoted Balanoba as saying he was spotted by a plane which flew down low five times to identify him. "Immediately after, a Japanese Coast Guard chopper and a boat came and picked him up," Abad added.

Arrangements for return
 

The Coast Guard's Carrera said his team had searched for Balanoba for days, to no avail.

He said Abad informed his team that the missing fisherman was found alive in Japan. The Japanese Coast Guard later confirmed the report, he said.

Abad, meanwhile, said the report was relayed by Joy Tirol, a Filipino diplomat assigned to Japan. Embassy officials there are making arrangements for the return of Balanoba to Basco in Batanes, where he lives with his family.

"Balanoba profusely thanked the Japanese authorities for saving his life and for adequately providing him with medical care," said Abad.

The joyful news of the fisherman's dramatic rescue interrupted days of suffering across much of the Philippines, including Batanes where Storm Maring lingered for days before exiting the country on Wednesday.

"We need to celebrate good news too," Abad said.

— Andreo Calonzo/KBK/YA/HS, GMA News
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