2 divers in Ocean Papa 'blast' now safe
Two divers involved in the salvaging of a sunken cargo vessel in Culasi town in Antique were taken to the hospital on Monday after being hit by trapped air from one of the vessel's compartments.
Primitivo Morales and Rodel Lazaro were given medical treatment first at the Culasi District Hospital and later confined at the Aklan provincial hospital in the capital town of Kalibo after they complained of difficulty of breathing, said Commodore William Melad, Coast Guard Western Visayas District Commander, in a telephone interview on Wednesday,
Melad said the two divers were underwater less than 30 feet deep and were boring holes on a compartment of the M/V Ocean Papa when an explosion-type force knocked them off.
"Trapped air or pressure inside the compartment could have been released when the holes were bored," said Melad.
Aside from difficulty of breathing, the divers suffered no other injuries. Lazaro is set to be released from the hospital after undergoing observation but Morales will be still confined because he was found to be already suffering from diabetes and a previous respiratory ailment.
The divers are part of a 10-member salvaging team of of the CV Gaspar Salvage and Lighterage Company that has been cutting up the vessel into pieces and transported to the shore.
The vessel sank due to strong winds and rough seas at noon of June 21 near Mararison Island around 5.6 km from the coast of Culasi while en route to Iloilo City from Manila.
Operations have focused on salvaging the vessel after divers failed to locate around 80 sealed drums containing at least 16 metric tons of the toxic substance toluene di-isocyanate (TDI). The cargo was among those believed thrown off the vessel when it sank.
Melad said the salvage operations will continue despite the incident. As of Tuesday, around 84.5 percent of the salvage operations have been completed and is expected to be finished in the first week of November.