US Navy rescues stranded Filipino fishermen in WPS

MANILA — A United States Navy vessel came to the rescue of five Filipino fishermen who have been adrift in the West Philippine Sea for five days.

Cargo ship USNS Wally Schirra was conducting a routine mission when the distressed Filipinos were spotted adrift in the sea, according to a report from the US 7th Fleet.

Wally Schirra's master Capt. Keith Sauls said the Filipino fishermen were waving their arms and a flag in the air when the watch officer and a lookout saw them.

"Luckily, we were going at a slow enough speed to have spotted the fishermen," Sauls said. "They were also flashing a white light that was previously thought to be a fishing buoy. The watch officer notified me, then the chief mate of a possible rescue situation."

The fishermen's boat sank on October 3 after the bill of a six-feet long blue marlin punctured the hull of their boat.

"The fishermen salvaged what they could from the rapidly sinking boat, removing the outriggers and planks to turn it into a raft with floats and barrels underneath for floatation," USNS Wally Schirra chief mate Leon Hadley said.

The Filipinos were able to take with them some rice, clothes, batteries, a light bulb, an AM-receive only radio and a handheld GPS but they did not have water.

Hadley noted that they were lucky to have found the fishermen when they did as they may have died after two to three days without water.