At least 70 passengers and five crewmen of a motor boat were rescued after the seacraft sank off Hilutungan waters in Cordova town at past 2 a.m. yesterday, a Coast Guard official said.
Rolando Punzalan, Coast Guard station commander, said the owner of the MB Ardie Express will be investigated since the boat had a license to carry only cargo, not passengers.
Punzalan said the Coast Guard would also investigate if the boat was overloaded.
He admitted this would be difficult because the passengers were not listed on a manifest.
The Ardie Express, which was bound for Pasil fish port in this city, left Talibon port in Bohol at p.m. last Thursday, Punzalan said.
He said the Coast Guard received a report at 2 a.m. that the boat was starting to sink in the Hinulungan Channel.
Punzalan said one of the passengers managed to call a sibling, who then asked assistance from the Cebu Coast Guard.
The accident site was near the mangrove area in between Hilutungan island and mainland Cordova town,
The passengers and crewmen were rescued two hours later by another motor boat that passed through the area, the Coast Guard said.
Punzalan said the boat engineer identified as Jaime Lomod claimed that the boat’s exhaust was detached, so the water seeped inside. Correspondent Jhunnex Napallacan with an Inquirer report