Body of 5th victim of Cotabato boat collision found near river mouth

COTABATO CITY–The body of the 5th fatality in a riverboat collision along Mindanao’s longest river on Saturday night was found on Monday, a local official said.

Banjo Mampon, municipal administrator of Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao, said motorboat operators found the remains of Pudi Giadel covered by water hyacinth near the mouth of Rio Grande de Mindanao on Monday.

Guiadel, the operator of a boat carrying 10 passengers, was heading home to Barangay Katidtuan when the boat slammed against a smaller motorboat at 8:45 p.m. on Saturday.

Both vessels capsized and four of the passengers, including an Islamic preacher, were drowned. Their bodies were recovered on Sunday.

Mampon said both vessels had no lighting facilities that would make them visible to other vessels at night. It was raining when the collision happened in Barangay Bulibod, he added./lzb