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Source: www.kickerdaily.com
The American boyfriend of a Filipino tourist who died in Coron, Palawan more than a week ago has taken to social media to clear speculations surrounding his death, ABS-CBN reported.
On his social media accounts, Travis Navarro Millard posted a picture showing the bruised and punctured left foot of Miguel Ruiz who died on August 14 after stepping on something poisonous.
“I’ve been very bothered by the different stories concerning the cause of his death,” his post started. “He did not drown, he did not step on a stonefish.”
Earlier reports say Ruiz might have stepped on a stonefish while his official post-mortem from the hospital states he died from drowning.
Elaborating further, Millard wrote: “The attached photo is exactly what Miguel’s foot looked like when he was observed at Coron District Hospital. They dismissed the puncture wounds and didn’t offer me any type of explanation.”
Millard then explained that he sought professional advice and came to the conclusion that it was a sea urchin which caused his boyfriend’s fatality.
“After a thorough search and discussion with several marine and medical professionals, it is our best conclusion that he stepped on a sea urchin, not a stonefish,” he wrote, and added in a link to a story about a similar incident involving the son of TV personality and former football player Bob Wilson as proof.
However, Millard also stressed that they are still waiting for the official reports from the autopsy which was done in Manila to definitively pin down Ruiz’s cause of death.
“We are still awaiting the official autopsy results for the detailed toxicology report,” he wrote. “However, it is important for me to clear the air about the stonefish and other suggested cause of death.”
Millard and Ruiz’s family have vowed to press charges against the authorities in Coron for failing to provide proper medical training and equipment to tourism and health personnel in the municipality.
Millard and Ruiz’s family have vowed to press charges against the authorities in Coron for failing to provide proper medical training and equipment to tourism and health personnel in the municipality. - tama lang...since they are a known tourist destination!
ReplyDeleteWhen you travel, risks are already part of it. Before you travel, know the dangers, risks involved. And being a sea lover myself, #1 rule is to respect the sea and everything in it. It's a big no-no to step on corals and it was mentioned by relatives and even the bf himself that the victim mentioned stepping on some corals then complained that he felt something then the tragedy happened. I dont think it's entirely the local govt's fault that the person died. As tourist or traveller, you should be in control of your safety, dont entrust it on someone else's hands. It was tragic but no reason to blame the whole province for it.
DeleteTotally agree with 3.44. Tourists should be responsible and respect nature, this place is not Disneyland where everything is catered to your convenience. Palawan is still a remote island and that's part of it's charm.
DeleteFamilies dapat. Naloka akess sa grammar ng site na yan. LOL
DeleteYou missed the point dearie. Regardless if he stepped on poo or a sea urchin, the point is that he was not given appropriate medical attention and was given substandard care.
DeleteTama respect nature!
DeleteAgre with Anon 3:44 and 6:39, but i think this is something the local government can improve on as well. Given na yung mag ingat as tourist. But accidents can happen and when they do, the hospital staff should be capable enough to provide first aid/cure to patients. Just my 2cents...
Deletedi ako agree sa nyu mga baks 3:44. ang mali ata dito is wrong diagnosis, kun na-detect agad cause of illness, mabibigay ang tamang lunas. pede nga kasuhan yun authorities dun for negligence! this is so third world. baka humina tourism dun!
DeleteAs a responaible you ahould never step on a coral where sea urchins theive. Kaya nasisira na corals sa Corol because of some irresponsible tourists.
Deletethey should wear aqua shoes to protect their feet.
Delete3:44 excuse lang po! accident nga ito. do u think the guy would really wanted to stepped on the corals? na talagang gawain niya yon? i dont think so. this is an accident and should this same thing happen again tapos ganoon pa rin ang mangyayari, then ewan ko na lang sa mga taga coron!
DeleteTama si 3:44, everywhere you go there's ALWAYS a risk, learning lesson na din sa Coron ang nangyari, perhaps after ng ACCIDENT gagawa na sila ng necessary measures para sa safety ng mga tourists.
DeleteYun na nga eh, aware ang locals sa risks. So bakit sa local hospital hindi agad nila na-identify yun? Sinabi na nga nung guy na he stepped on something and it hurt him daw so that should have been noted. The drowning (if he did drown) would have been secondary to the toxin, hindi ba? Di ako doctor ha, pero kakanood ko lang ng mga csi and medical dramas and discovery channel natututunan ko na yan. Kawawa tuloy ang local government, nagmumukhang incompetent. Baka masira ang tourism sa Palawan, kawawa ang local industries. Sana they can handle this issue well. Palawan is a beautiful place with such nice people.
DeleteNakakalungkot na kailangan pang may mamatay para maging aware tayo na may mga poisonous element sa ilalim ng dagat. Kulang tayo lahat sa kaalaman na kung ano ang mga ito, ano ang dapat gawin at paano ito maiiwasan. Tapos binabaligtad pa ng coron authorities. Praying for his family and bf to heal.
ReplyDeleteif everyone who has loved ones or relatives who died during a trip, lahat ng bansa/province may kaso. this was an accident, he died 10minutes after stepping on the urchin/coral, im highly doubtful he was even alive when he got in the hospital. so how is that the fault of the local govt?
DeleteIt was tragic but it was an accident. and i think you dont need a warning to not step on the corals? aside from being dangerous, living sea creatures thrive because of them so why would you destroy their home? it may sound heartless, but he died because he stepped on thing/s he was not supposed to. ganun lang yun, no need to blame others for it. i dont think anyone from Coron held a gun to their heads and forced them to come. they went there, it was their choice. lahat ng travels always have risks. acceptance is better than blaming others for it. Suing everyone is not how you get peace. you get peace by facing the truth. no one wanted him to die, it was just an unfortunate event.
Nung nagpunta kami sa coron years ago, sinabihan naman kami ng boatman na poisonous Ang sea urchins. Kaya nga iwas na iwas kami nun sa sea urchins eh. Kitang kita naman kasi sila so dapat hindi na sila sa part na yun nagswimming/diving.
DeleteWala pa nmn pala result yun autopsy, dapat hindi muna sya patola, khit professional help yun kinuha nya wala pa rin valid proof yun. But it doesnt change the fact that someone has to die because he wasnt given the necessary medical attention at that time hayst condolence to the family
ReplyDeleteAno klase ng Sea Urchin kaya yan..nakatapat na ako nyan, nde ko kaya tanggalin isa isa, andami kahit gamitan ng karayom..ayun ilang weeks parang may nakatusok sa paa ko pero hindi masyado masakit, makati lang..hanggang sa nawala na..
ReplyDeletepag sea urchin kailangan ihian ung area na natinik or buhusan ng suka. natinik na nyan ang kaibigan ko at ihi lng katapat.
ReplyDeleteihi at init! parang pinapa.usukan!
DeleteIm from palawan. Nagkaron din nyan ang frend sa beach malapit samin, ihi ang pantanggal nyan. Mrami nyan dto pero un nga inaadvise naman ang mga tourist to wear aqua shoes.
Deletemadumi na pala water sa coron, di ba sea urchin thrives on those waters!
DeleteIgnorance can kill. Wag kuyugin ang peaceful town of coron, due to their ignorance. SOP yan to never step on the corals. And i've been to coron numerous times since generator lang ang gamit ng town. Never nagkulang ang mga boatmen at tourists guides sa paalala na galangin ang sea creatures and never step on the corals.
ReplyDeleteWhen we went to coron, may areas talaga na mababa ang pag binaba mo paa mo maapakan mo talaga ung mga corals at kung ano pa man kaya mahigpit ung boat man namin at tour guide na mag float lang sa mababang area, and dapat alam ng lahat ng tourist na kaabikat ng magandang nature lagi ang danger, although naiintindihan ko uung point ng family ng vocitm na sana nga trained ang mga boat man or tour guide sa ano mang klase ng emergency, dapat lahat ng boats may mga emergency kit at may mga radio or walkie talkie dapat sila para pag emergency pwedeng humingi ng tulong sa ibang bangkero, not sure lang kung possible yun.
ReplyDeleteI was also stung in the wrecked ship area wayback 2010. Thank God above didnt happen to me!
ReplyDeleteI was the only one who guessed the COD right in your previous article on this topic - it was either an urchin or a stonefish.
ReplyDeleteI made a valid point about including the Leave No Trace philosophy in tourist briefings because tourists (including the victim and his companion) shouldn’t have been stepping or destroying LIVING corals. I also mentioned that the network shouldn't be accused of being bought (the article did mention their source and that cause of death was still being investigated).
As for the family's plan to press charges against local officials or agencies, as much as I understand and agree that the local government should be prepared for such incidents, I don't think they have a legal basis for their suit.
What happened to the deceased was an accident. I don't think he intended to step on an urchin - if this is the cause of death. Tourists shouldn't be stepping on corals to begin with.
Doing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on a choking/vomiting victim probably wasn't the wisest move either. (Shouldn't we clear the airways first? That's the A of the ABC's of CPR, right?)
I'm sorry for the family's loss but they should just continue to lobby for better safety and emergency standards in tourist destinations WITHOUT having to assign blame on people who did not directly cause the victim's death.
Most resorts in Palawan offer tourists the option to rent water shoes for protection.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in Palawan last year, our guide recommended that we rent water shoes before we proceeded on our island hopping.
The thing here is walang urgency na ginawa sa kaibigan ko. Kaya nga ACCIDENT e! Without any intention, you can predict what is going to happen. So dapat may first aid kit sila sa boat / ambulance to revive the patient pero wala. So there's negligence happened. If only Miguel knows that it wasn't safe, hindi sya pupunta dun. Kahit nga SUKA or INIHIAN manlang sana ng boat man yung foot nya kasi that's one of the first thing na dapat gawin when you stepped on a sea urchin kapag walang hot water. Per they didn't. Nagconclude sila na he was just exhausted kaya he passed out. :( They let our friend die. :(
ReplyDeleteMillard and Ruiz’s family have vowed to press charges against the authorities in Coron for failing to provide proper medical training and equipment to tourism and health personnel in the municipality.- this an accident and an inevitable circumstance pero wag naman sila mag hanap ng masisisi. ano magagawa natin kung kulang talaga sa equipment ang medical facility na un at malayo sila sa kabihasnan. i know that the family is in grief pero walang may gusto na mangyari toh. dont put the blame to others and dont displace the anger.
ReplyDelete-xoxo-