Storm damages boat; 21 saved
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ILOILO CITY, Philippines—Twenty-one persons, including 14 foreigners, were rescued from a motorized boat that had damaged one of its outriggers off Cauayan town in Negros Occidental near midnight on Friday, the Philippine Coast Guard said Saturday.
No one was reported injured although strong waves spawned by Tropical Depression “Caloy” delayed the effort to transfer the passengers of the limping motorboat Ona to the rescue vessel.
The foreigners included nine persons from France, two from Switzerland and one each from Mexico, Germany and Spain, according to a report by Commodore Athelo Ybañez, Western Visayas Coast Guard commander.
The 78.8-gross ton motorboat left the capital town of San Jose in Antique at 10 a.m. on Saturday en route to Oslob town in Cebu.
Its crew reported to the Coast Guard about 5 p.m. that the boat had limited maneuverability because of a damaged outrigger. The boat also could capsize because of the rough seas and strong winds.
The tanker Francis Charles passed by the Ona about 9:45 p.m. on Friday and established radio contact with the motorboat’s crew. But the passengers could not transfer to the tanker because of the huge waves.
The tanker’s crew was advised by the Coast Guard to keep watch over the boat until a rescue vessel arrived.
The MCS 3006, a monitoring, control and surveillance ship of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource operated by Coast Guard personnel, reached the Ona at 11:12 p.m. 11 miles off Sojoton Point in Cauyan.
Again, rough seas prevented the transfer of the boat’s passengers to the MCS 3006.
The BFAD vessel escorted the Ona until it was about 8 miles off Tandog Island in Nueva Valencia, Guimaras, where 11 of the foreigners were finally transferred to the rescue vessel at 3:35 a.m. on Saturday.
Three other foreigners, who had organized a diving trip to Cebu, and the boat’s seven Filipino crew opted to stay on the boat, which docked in Sta. Ana Bay in Nueva Valencia.
The 11 foreigners, who arrived in Iloilo City underwent a medical checkup before they were billeted in a hotel, according to Lt. Cmdr. Dominador Senador III, commander of the Coast Guard station in Iloilo.
Negros and Guimaras islands as well as southern Cebu and Bohol were among the areas placed under signal number 1 due to Caloy.
In Cebu, at least 1,781 passengers were stranded in the ports of Cebu, Bohol and Negros Oriental after the Coast Guard barred vessels from sailing due to Caloy, said Coast Guard Commander Rodulfo Villajuan. Nestor P. Burgos Jr. and Carmel Loise Matus, Inquirer Visayas
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