53 rescued after 2 bancas capsized off Negros Occidental

BACOLOD CITY — Fifty-three passengers were rescued after two bancas capsized due to big waves in the seas off the cities of Sagay and San Carlos City in Negros Occidental on Sunday, March 20.

Sagay Mayor Alfredo Marañon III said he was informed that those on board the banca were motorcycle riders from various parts of Negros Occidental who had gone on an outing in Molocaboc.

Meanwhile, ten passengers on the motorized banca that capsized off the coast near the boulevard of San Carlos City were rescued at 2 p.m. Sunday, said Joe Recalex Alingasa, head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO).

All victims were rescued by local fisherfolk with the Water Search and Rescue Teams from the CDRRMO and Task Force Bantay Dagat.

Witnesses said the boat was already approaching the wharf when big waves hit it, causing it to tilt and eventually capsize.

The passengers and the boat operator are all residents of San Carlos City.

One of the victims, a 68 year-old woman, who was saved from drowning was brought to the local hospital with elevated blood pressure and breathing difficulty, Alingasa said.

San Carlos City Mayor Rene Gustilo ordered the immediate cancellation of pump boat trips plying the route to and from the island of Sipaway due to the unsafe sea condition.

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