I would like to take this opportunity to inform everybody about the passing of our two engineers, Sam and Albert. They drowned while we went for some crabbing. We are grieving for this unnecessary loss…
It all started on Tuesday night when we left Al-Mansoura @ around 7:20pm to go crabbing in Al-Khor. It was our first time to go there. There were four of us, me, Ronald, Albert and Sam. We were supposed to be five, along with Vincent but because of the terrible earthquake that recently happened on his province, he told me that he couldn’t come as he felt that it doesn’t feel good to be celebrating or enjoying while his family is being traumatized with more aftershocks.
So, off we go, all four of us.
We reached the small port in Al-Khor at around 8:20 or 8:30pm and found a place, just around 500m 0r so from the port, we thought to be good to do some crabbing as the waters were just only knee-high. After about an hour, at around 9:30pm and not finding any, we decided to switch to the other side thinking that might be a better area. Again, we didn’t find any there, so we stayed only a short while maybe around 15-20 minutes and left the area. Around that time, Romy who probably had just finished crabbing called Albert that in the place they went to, they were able to catch many crabs. (Just for the knowledge of everybody we have been in touched with Romy on our way to Al Khor, as they were also going for crabbing, he mentioned to me that place beforehand but we couldn’t exactly remember it, so we ended on that area near the port.) So, Romy said we’ll meet him in the roundabout near Grand Mart and he’ll show us the place. So, we saw his car flashing and tailed him. Just after turning right he parked his car and showed to us his catch. And then he left. So we followed his instruction all the while maintaining constant communications with him by phone till finally we arrived at the area. It was around 10:30pm.
The water was only knee-deep high. We started our search. Initially, Sam caught two crabs so that inspired us to search for more. We found here and there but we find it hard to catch, novice that we are. Till, finally after sometime, I noticed that the water started rising. I shouted to Ronald and Albert who were about 15-20 meters away that we need to go back and maybe it’s going to be high-tide. So we started walking back. Only, then, we realized that we have gone too far from the shore. I estimated it to be 3kms (Ronald was saying it was less, later on). But we went very far as we couldn’t see the shores anymore. We couldn’t see the mangroves. It was around 11:30pm. (I was wearing my watch throughout this ordeal and I was checking the time from time to time). So, we followed that blinking light of the tower which was our guide to get back to the same place where we started. As we were walking back, the water started rising suddenly. When it was reaching the back pocket of my shorts I told Sam if he could put on his jacket my car key and my wallet. So, he put it in his breast pocket. So, Albert and Ronald catching up with me and Sam was ahead for about few meters. When it was reaching my neck, I asked Albert if he knew how to swim and I told him I couldn’t swim and I only know how to do the floating– I told him to help me. He was just nodding his head. He gave me the aluminum stick to hold on while I was doing my floating and pushing the stick forward. Then, we reached a shallow area. He said, you could stand now and it was up to my breast. We thank God we reached the shallow area. Or so we thought. We stayed there for such a short time only and we continued. Thinking that if we waited long maybe the water will eventually rise. But still we couldn’t see the shore. And it was getting deeper and deeper just as we thought. A few minutes after that, I heard Sam saying, “This is already very deep.” This was after 25-30mins only after we started walking back. That was the last time I heard from him. While I continued with my floating, I overheard Ronald saying –that we should stay close together. Up to this point, I really don’t know how far we were to each other. I was just hearing Ronald shouting , ‘Albert!Sam! Are you ok? And when they would answer I felt relieved. This goes on for such a time that I was shouting “Are our directions correct?” Is my direction ok? But nobody was answering. I just continued with my floating and turned from time to time to check if I could see the shore - but still no shores. While doing my floating and looking up the stars I was wondering why we swam already for a long time and yet we didn’t reach the shore and instead we were still in a very deep water. At this point I assumed that Ronald, Albert and Sam were just continuously swimming while I was doing my floating.
I was observing the position of the stars with respect to mine but still the same. I was thinking maybe we were just going round and round in circles. Then I heard Ronald shouting again, “Albert!Sam! Are you ok?” And when they did not answer, I was really worried that bad things already happened to them. I was very afraid and nervous now. I was having cramps on my left leg at that point. I continued with my floating and then something softly hit my left shoulder. And when I turned my head to the left, I realized it was Albert. I don’t remember if I called Ronald or Ronald called me to do something about Albert. But I shouted back to Ronald, “What can I do? I cannot do anything. We cannot do anything right now.” He was already drowned and not moving and lying face first in the water.
I resolved to just stay afloat as long as I can. As long as my strength will carry me. And then I heard Ronald shouting, “Help! And so, I shouted for help also. I saw the boat stopped and I saw Ronald flashing his torchlight to the boat. We were continuously shouting for help at the top of our voices. But the boat again continued sailing. Later, after sometime, I heard Ronald again shouting for help so I shouted also at the top of my lungs. We were shouting for help continuously - I realized by then that I am going to die if nobody came to help. If nobody notices us then I’m gonna die. This boat was my last chance to live. I could see the boat now from my right eye. I was shouting Ronald!Ronald! Just so he would hear me and know that I’m still alive. Now the boat was approaching closer and they threw a rope and pulled me out of the water. It was 2:30 AM. When I was on deck I saw Ronald and he told me that Sam was already gone. I saw Sam lying on his side and went to him, touched his shoulder and head. And all I could tell him was, “Sorry, Sam. We didn’t expect this.”
Ronald told the fisherman that we still have a friend in the water. They searched for sometime and then they gave up and brought us to the coast guard. We didn’t find Albert. All this time Ronald was telling me what happened to Sam. That Sam was dead for over an hour and he was just carrying him on his chest, so he won’t lose Sam.
Later when we were in the hospital, he told me the details. That he found Albert drowning and was panicking to stay afloat, so he went over to him. Albert tried to hold on to his arms but he swatted it fearing that he will also be drowned if he couldn’t release his hold. Then pulled him up and he told Albert to relax, spread his legs and spread his arms. So he would stay afloat. And then when he was floating already, Ronald asked him 3 times, “”Are you ok?’ and Albert said yes each time. And then he called out to Sam, but Sam did not answer. He told Albert he will just go and look for Sam. It took him a few minutes to find Sam. Sam was already face first in the water when he found him. So, he turned him up. Pumped his chest but only bubbles were coming out. Still, he put Sam on his chest while doing the floating. Ronald by this time was having cramps on his left leg and on his right foot. He carried Sam on his chest for about 30 minutes and just doing the floating. Then he told Sam that he will just leave him for a while but he will comeback. He left Sam in a floating position. And Ronald swam towards the buoy where eventually he saw the boat that finally saved us. All that time he thought Albert was just floating by.
My understanding was that Sam was already dead by that time. And Ronald was just speaking to him as if he was still alive. Albert probably drowned between that time when Ronald was carrying Sam and that time which I mentioned earlier that I happened to see Albert face first already drowned and shouted to Ronald that we cannot do anything anymore.
Later, I got to know from Ronald that that boat that finally saved us was the fourth boat. I thought that was the second. Help came too late to save the two. And so we grieve for the loss of our dear friends…
I tried to recall the events as best as I could so that everyone will know what really transpired and no questions in their minds are left unanswered.
I couldn’t bear to think that such a harmless desire to seek what little joy we could have here in Qatar would result in such a terrible tragedy. What a waste and unnecessary loss to us and most especially to their families - being the breadwinners that they are. The source of economic well-being of their families…
How hard it was to talk to their wives and cousins and friends to explain everything from beginning to end. Couldn’t help but cry each time. But we will do it so that everybody will know their story. To those who know and love them - they deserve nothing less.
And in parting I’ll say to Sam and Albert. You will be sorely missed. Go and find the Light, my friends. Surely, God shall welcome you in His embrace….
https://www.facebook.com/FODQ26/posts/633362140050125
CRABBING INCIDENT : Narrative story of Mr. Edgar Mortel (c/o Parsons)
Let us pray for the soul of our two Kabayans. RIP
Mag ingat din po tayo.
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A TRAGIC INCIDENT
I would like to take this opportunity to inform everybody about the passing of our two engineers, Sam and Albert. They drowned while we went for some crabbing. We are grieving for this unnecessary loss…
It all started on Tuesday night when we left Al-Mansoura @ around 7:20pm to go crabbing in Al-Khor. It was our first time to go there. There were four of us, me, Ronald, Albert and Sam. We were supposed to be five, along with Vincent but because of the terrible earthquake that recently happened on his province, he told me that he couldn’t come as he felt that it doesn’t feel good to be celebrating or enjoying while his family is being traumatized with more aftershocks.
So, off we go, all four of us.
We reached the small port in Al-Khor at around 8:20 or 8:30pm and found a place, just around 500m 0r so from the port, we thought to be good to do some crabbing as the waters were just only knee-high. After about an hour, at around 9:30pm and not finding any, we decided to switch to the other side thinking that might be a better area. Again, we didn’t find any there, so we stayed only a short while maybe around 15-20 minutes and left the area. Around that time, Romy who probably had just finished crabbing called Albert that in the place they went to, they were able to catch many crabs. (Just for the knowledge of everybody we have been in touched with Romy on our way to Al Khor, as they were also going for crabbing, he mentioned to me that place beforehand but we couldn’t exactly remember it, so we ended on that area near the port.) So, Romy said we’ll meet him in the roundabout near Grand Mart and he’ll show us the place. So, we saw his car flashing and tailed him. Just after turning right he parked his car and showed to us his catch. And then he left. So we followed his instruction all the while maintaining constant communications with him by phone till finally we arrived at the area. It was around 10:30pm.
The water was only knee-deep high. We started our search. Initially, Sam caught two crabs so that inspired us to search for more. We found here and there but we find it hard to catch, novice that we are. Till, finally after sometime, I noticed that the water started rising. I shouted to Ronald and Albert who were about 15-20 meters away that we need to go back and maybe it’s going to be high-tide. So we started walking back. Only, then, we realized that we have gone too far from the shore. I estimated it to be 3kms (Ronald was saying it was less, later on). But we went very far as we couldn’t see the shores anymore. We couldn’t see the mangroves. It was around 11:30pm. (I was wearing my watch throughout this ordeal and I was checking the time from time to time). So, we followed that blinking light of the tower which was our guide to get back to the same place where we started. As we were walking back, the water started rising suddenly. When it was reaching the back pocket of my shorts I told Sam if he could put on his jacket my car key and my wallet. So, he put it in his breast pocket. So, Albert and Ronald catching up with me and Sam was ahead for about few meters. When it was reaching my neck, I asked Albert if he knew how to swim and I told him I couldn’t swim and I only know how to do the floating– I told him to help me. He was just nodding his head. He gave me the aluminum stick to hold on while I was doing my floating and pushing the stick forward. Then, we reached a shallow area. He said, you could stand now and it was up to my breast. We thank God we reached the shallow area. Or so we thought. We stayed there for such a short time only and we continued. Thinking that if we waited long maybe the water will eventually rise. But still we couldn’t see the shore. And it was getting deeper and deeper just as we thought. A few minutes after that, I heard Sam saying, “This is already very deep.” This was after 25-30mins only after we started walking back. That was the last time I heard from him. While I continued with my floating, I overheard Ronald saying –that we should stay close together. Up to this point, I really don’t know how far we were to each other. I was just hearing Ronald shouting , ‘Albert!Sam! Are you ok? And when they would answer I felt relieved. This goes on for such a time that I was shouting “Are our directions correct?” Is my direction ok? But nobody was answering. I just continued with my floating and turned from time to time to check if I could see the shore - but still no shores. While doing my floating and looking up the stars I was wondering why we swam already for a long time and yet we didn’t reach the shore and instead we were still in a very deep water. At this point I assumed that Ronald, Albert and Sam were just continuously swimming while I was doing my floating.
I was observing the position of the stars with respect to mine but still the same. I was thinking maybe we were just going round and round in circles. Then I heard Ronald shouting again, “Albert!Sam! Are you ok?” And when they did not answer, I was really worried that bad things already happened to them. I was very afraid and nervous now. I was having cramps on my left leg at that point. I continued with my floating and then something softly hit my left shoulder. And when I turned my head to the left, I realized it was Albert. I don’t remember if I called Ronald or Ronald called me to do something about Albert. But I shouted back to Ronald, “What can I do? I cannot do anything. We cannot do anything right now.” He was already drowned and not moving and lying face first in the water.
I resolved to just stay afloat as long as I can. As long as my strength will carry me. And then I heard Ronald shouting, “Help! And so, I shouted for help also. I saw the boat stopped and I saw Ronald flashing his torchlight to the boat. We were continuously shouting for help at the top of our voices. But the boat again continued sailing. Later, after sometime, I heard Ronald again shouting for help so I shouted also at the top of my lungs. We were shouting for help continuously - I realized by then that I am going to die if nobody came to help. If nobody notices us then I’m gonna die. This boat was my last chance to live. I could see the boat now from my right eye. I was shouting Ronald!Ronald! Just so he would hear me and know that I’m still alive. Now the boat was approaching closer and they threw a rope and pulled me out of the water. It was 2:30 AM. When I was on deck I saw Ronald and he told me that Sam was already gone. I saw Sam lying on his side and went to him, touched his shoulder and head. And all I could tell him was, “Sorry, Sam. We didn’t expect this.”
Ronald told the fisherman that we still have a friend in the water. They searched for sometime and then they gave up and brought us to the coast guard. We didn’t find Albert. All this time Ronald was telling me what happened to Sam. That Sam was dead for over an hour and he was just carrying him on his chest, so he won’t lose Sam.
Later when we were in the hospital, he told me the details. That he found Albert drowning and was panicking to stay afloat, so he went over to him. Albert tried to hold on to his arms but he swatted it fearing that he will also be drowned if he couldn’t release his hold. Then pulled him up and he told Albert to relax, spread his legs and spread his arms. So he would stay afloat. And then when he was floating already, Ronald asked him 3 times, “”Are you ok?’ and Albert said yes each time. And then he called out to Sam, but Sam did not answer. He told Albert he will just go and look for Sam. It took him a few minutes to find Sam. Sam was already face first in the water when he found him. So, he turned him up. Pumped his chest but only bubbles were coming out. Still, he put Sam on his chest while doing the floating. Ronald by this time was having cramps on his left leg and on his right foot. He carried Sam on his chest for about 30 minutes and just doing the floating. Then he told Sam that he will just leave him for a while but he will comeback. He left Sam in a floating position. And Ronald swam towards the buoy where eventually he saw the boat that finally saved us. All that time he thought Albert was just floating by.
My understanding was that Sam was already dead by that time. And Ronald was just speaking to him as if he was still alive. Albert probably drowned between that time when Ronald was carrying Sam and that time which I mentioned earlier that I happened to see Albert face first already drowned and shouted to Ronald that we cannot do anything anymore.
Later, I got to know from Ronald that that boat that finally saved us was the fourth boat. I thought that was the second. Help came too late to save the two. And so we grieve for the loss of our dear friends…
I tried to recall the events as best as I could so that everyone will know what really transpired and no questions in their minds are left unanswered.
I couldn’t bear to think that such a harmless desire to seek what little joy we could have here in Qatar would result in such a terrible tragedy. What a waste and unnecessary loss to us and most especially to their families - being the breadwinners that they are. The source of economic well-being of their families…
How hard it was to talk to their wives and cousins and friends to explain everything from beginning to end. Couldn’t help but cry each time. But we will do it so that everybody will know their story. To those who know and love them - they deserve nothing less.
And in parting I’ll say to Sam and Albert. You will be sorely missed. Go and find the Light, my friends. Surely, God shall welcome you in His embrace….