BACOLOD CITY – A male passenger, who was suffering from depression died after he reportedly jumped from a Roll on - Roll off (Roro) vessel at Bacolod Real Estate Development Corp. (Bredco) port in Barangay 10 here Thursday, Feb. 10.
The name of the 34-year-old victim, a resident of Barangay San Dionisio, Molo, Iloilo, was withheld.
Commander Joe Luviz Mercurio, head of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)-northern Negros Occidental, said the vessel was bound for Dumangas, Iloilo, when the incident happened.
Mercurio said the victim’s uncle prevented his nephew from jumping into the sea, but the latter allegedly insisted.
In a video posted by Sanie Ong on Facebook, the victim was seen already at the sea. But, after a while, he went missing.
Ong, one of the passengers of the vessel, in a Facebook post, said 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, but he was surprised when the man jumped into the sea.
The vessel returned to Bredco port after the incident.
Upon receiving the information on the incident, Coast Guard personnel immediately conducted search and rescue operation. However, the victim was declared dead by the rescuers.
Mercurio said the victim was suffering from depression or nervous breakdown, according to his uncle.