Ocean Jet crew save 6-yr old forced by pa in suicide jump at sea
A 6 year-old girl was rescued in the rough sea waters off Guimaras Island Saturday morning after forcibly taken in an apparent suicide jump of her father.
Thanks to the quick heroic job of crew on board Ocean Jet 7 ferry, the girl was saved within minutes of the jump. The girl's father was believed to be suffering from a mental illness. From search and rescue, efforts done by the crew later joined in by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has since turned into a search and recovery operation.
The yet to be identified captain of Ocean Jet 7 immediately headed back to Iloilo port upon rescue of the little girl. She was then rushed to the hospital accompanied by the day's officer-in-charge of Ocean Jet ticketing office here.
Bombo Radyo Iloilo in a report said the girl is expected to survive and was seen by witnesses to be fully conscious upon transfer to the waiting ambulance.
The News Today (TNT) gathered that the incident occurred within minutes that Ocean Jet 7 left Iloilo Port about 7:45am. Father and daughter were among the paying passengers of the 338-capacity ferry bound for Bacolod.
Initial PCG investigation, radio reports said, heard of witness accounts on how the father calmly left his seat with his daughter tugging along.
By the area of Siete Pecados in Guimaras, the man simply lifted his daughter and hurled her off the boat and jumped himself thereafter.
It was over in seconds, authorities were told, that nobody even distinctly heard the cries for help made by the girl.
Rescue efforts focused on the 6 year-old with the father not visibly seen by rescuers.
Identities of the Ocean Jet 7 heroes have yet to be released by management however a staff told TNT that one of those responsible for saving the girl was a neophyte crew.