By Alexander Lopez

RESCUE. Personnel from the Terminal Management Office and the Philippine Coast Guard attend to a man who jumped from a cargo vessel near the Lipata Port in Surigao City on Sunday (Feb. 23, 2025). He was taken to Caraga Regional Hospital but did not survive. (Photo courtesy of Puerto Nan Surigao Facebook)

BUTUAN CITY – A male passenger died after jumping from a cargo vessel he boarded near the Lipata Port in Surigao City at around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.

In a statement on Monday, the port’s Terminal Management Office (TMO) said the 51-year-old fatality is from Lubang, Occidental Mindoro.

Accounts of fellow LCT Georgia 1 Ferry passengers indicated he jumped while the vessel was nearing the port.

The vessel turned back to retrieve the passenger. A passing motor banca of a fisher also helped rescue the victim.

“The TMO Lipata and the Coast Guard personnel were promptly notified and a rescue team attended to him upon the vessel’s arrival at the Lipata Ferry Terminal,” the TMO said.

The victim was transported to the Caraga Regional Hospital but eventually died, the report said.

“The motive behind his actions remains unclear as he was traveling alone and no additional information could be provided by other passengers or crew members,” the TMO said. (PNA)