4 killed in boat mishap in Sulu

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At least four people were killed while more than 14 have been rescued and a still undetermined number remain missing after a vessel capsized in waters off Sulu Thursday morning, the military reported.

The incident occurred while the passenger vessel MPB/Wilayza was sailing in waters between Tapul and Pata islands, according to a report by the Armed Forces’ Joint Task Group Sulu.

It happened shortly after the vessel left the Jun D Lan Port in Jolo around 10 a.m., according to the report sent by JTG Sulu chief Colonel Alan Arrojado to Joint Task Force Zambasulta commander Rear Admiral Reynaldo Yoma.

A resident informed the JTG Sulu of the incident around 8 p.m., so Arrojado directed the task group’s Navy unit to send a vessel that will conduct search and rescue operations, according to the report.

Initial information gathered from the area indicated that the vessel was overloaded with “hundreds of bags of cement, iron bars, and had about 50 passengers, excluding the crew.”

“Apat po ang confirmed na patay, may isa na pinapa-check pa (Four are confirmed dead, one is under close observation),” JTG Sulu public affairs officer Captain Antonio Bulao said, when asked about the incident.

Fourteen passengers, of which seven are children, were rescued and are now being treated at the Integrated Provincial Health Office in Jolo.

Other survivors are said to be already in Tapul Island, where they are being attended to by barangay officials who were the first to respond to the incident, while a still undetermined number remain missing, according to the report. TVJ