Capitol Sends Team to Pilar, Camotes to Assist Families of Nirvana Mishap Fatalities

The Cebu Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) has sent a team to Pilar, Camotes Island in northern Cebu to assist families of those who died and the survivors of the MB Kim Nirvana-B mishap in Ormoc City.

It also sent a team to Ormoc City to help families secure vital documents, settle payables and process insurance claims.

A total of 62 passengers died, while 142 survived when motorboat Kim Nirvana-B capsized off Ormoc City last July 2, just a few hundred meters away from the city’s port.

Of the fatalities, 52 were from the towns in the Camotes Islands, mostly from Pilar town.

The bodies of 45 of those who died in the sea mishap, placed in white caskets, arrived in Pilar, Camotes on board the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel BRP Batangas last Sunday.

Cebu PSWDO Head Rose Sosa said the Cebu Capitol and the Pilar Municipal Government will help families of the fatalities with wake and burial expenses.

She said the provincial government already assured funeral parlors and hospitals that they will help pay for the victims’ obligations.

Earlier, Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) 7 officials said the families of those who perished in the Kim Nirvana-B mishap will receive PHP200,000 each in insurance benefits.

The insurance benefit is mandated by Republic Act 9295, or the Domestic Shipping Development Act of 2004. (PNA) LAP/EB/EDS