(WXXI News & AP) A ferry carrying 189 passengers and crew capsized Thursday minutes as it left a central Philippine port in choppy waters, leaving at least 36 dead and 26 others missing, coast guard officials said. A retired Livonia volunteer firefighter was on board that ferry and tried to save others. He was with his wife and mother-in-law.
48 year old Larry Drake used to be a member of the Livonia Fire Department and also was an EMT. He tells WXXI News he served there for 13 years and he now lives mostly in the Philippines after just having gotten married to a Filipino woman earlier this year.
He says the boat capsized soon after it left port.
"A big gust of wind, a big wave hit the left front of the boat and the boat started tipping up like it was going to tip over so everybody went flying to the front and on to the left side and tried to push the boat back down but it was way too late. And it just went around and within 6 to 7 seconds it went from normal to upside down within seconds."
Drake says he helped save two people, including a woman who he revived with mouth- to- mouth resuscitation and a young boy he helped get out of the water.
"So my wife's holding on to him, and I'm trying to save this lady and all of a sudden the lady's daughter comes over and she's pregnant; you name it, it was happening, but when the rescue boats finally arrived, we got here in the rescue boat pretty quick."
And Drake says this isn't the first time he's had that kind of experience. He saved a toddler several years ago in Livingston County.
"Hard to believe but this is my second drowning; years and years ago I had an18 month old in Lakeville that went in a creek and I saved him too, so I've had two real saves, and both of them were drowning."
Drake says he saw several bodies around him in the water as he tried to save people. He says unfortunately, there are a number of Filipinos that don't know how to swim. Drake is ok, except for some bruises, and his wife and mother in law are ok too.
Dave Peck is a member of the Livonia fire department and he used to be the chief there. He worked with Drake for a number of years and remembers him as a very dedicated firefighter.
"When he was a member of our department he was 200 percent firefighter, he lived firefighting, couldn't get enough of it. He mostly was an engineer with our department, which means he drove truck and operated the pumps."
Peck says he got on Drake's Facebook page to congratulate him when he heard about what he did in the Philippines.
“Once I heard about it I got on Facebook and he had posted some items there. I told him I was very proud of him that he was able to use skills that he had learned and so forth."
Officials say the captain and some of the crew of that ferry were rescued and are in custody pending an investigation.
