INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
LUCENA CITY — Five passengers of a motorized boat were rescued Wednesday after their sea vessel capsized in the Pacific Ocean near the island town of Polillo in Quezon province.
The Quezon police said Thursday in a report that the rescued persons sailed from Patnanungan island town about 3 p.m. to deliver fish to Real town in Quezon’s mainland. The report did not identify the rescued passengers.
The boat was battered by strong waves and sank in the vicinity of Barangay Languyin in Polillo.
Fortunately, there were fishermen nearby who immediately saved the boat passengers, who were also fisherfolk. They were brought to safety and returned to their families in Patnanungan.
Sea travel for small vessels in northern Quezon remained suspended on Thursday due to the rough sea, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) District Southern Tagalog said in an advisory.
The advisory cited a forecast on Wednesday at 5 p.m. by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration of a strong gale-force wind associated with the northeast monsoon that was expected to affect the following areas in northern Quezon off the Pacific Ocean:
“Eastern seaboards of southern Luzon (Northern Quezon-General Nakar) including Polillo Islands (the northern coast of Panukulan and the northern and eastern Coast of Burdeos, Patnanungan and Jomalig),” the PCG-DST said.
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This meant that all trips by vessels with 250 gross tons or less, like motorized passenger or fishing boats, in those areas were suspended.
On Wednesday, authorities began suspending sea travel for small motorized passenger or fishing boats in these areas. The suspension order would be lifted once the weather and sea conditions improve, the PCG said.
Meanwhile, the PCG is still searching for fisherman Willie Miranda, 50, who was reported to have been missing since Nov. 14 in the waters off Polillo.
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The fisher, a resident of Patnanungan, sailed Tuesday aboard an unnamed black and green-painted fishing boat.
The search was suspended on Wednesday due to adverse weather and sea conditions.
However, shore patrol operations were conducted by PCG personnel in the Polillo, Burdeos, Infanta, and Real towns in search of Miranda. The authorities also disseminated information about the missing fisherman and appealed to local fisherfolk and coastal residents to help in the search.
The PCG said search-and-rescue operations would resume once the weather and sea condition permits.