Survivor of Philippine ferry disaster is rescued after 30 hours adrift

[Coventina]

Source: Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Seoul and Zamboanga City, Philippines -- For 30 long hours, Lita Casumlum bobbed in the churning seas. Buoyed by her life jacket, guzzling seawater, her face scorched by a relentless sun, she forced herself to concentrate on her husband and son as she prayed for her rescue.

Her pleas were answered Monday when a Philippine air force helicopter plucked the 39-year-old homemaker to safety, a day after the SuperFerry 9 sank off Zamboanga del Norte province in the southern Philippines.

Cargo ships, military gunboats and aircraft swarmed the area, pulling all but a few of the roughly 1,000 passengers and crew members to safety. Nine people are confirmed dead; after Casumlum's rescue, one is still missing.

"I just prayed and prayed hard that some ships or fishing boats or the navy would rescue me, but there was none," she said from a hospital bed Tuesday. "No ships until I saw the helicopter."


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-philippines-ferry-survivo-2009sep09,0,2465.story

---

What a great story!

[Suich]

1. Well, that's certainly a "feel good" story!

Thanks for posting it, coventina!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: