18 tourists stranded while on island hopping off Mactan Island, rescued

Map of Cebu province

CEBU CITY — Disaster response teams rescued 18 local tourists whose motorbanca was stranded while they went on an island hopping off Mactan Island, Cebu on Easter Sunday.

Lapu-Lapu City Disaster Management chief Nagiel Bañacia said the group of tourists was composed of college students from a university in Cebu.

Bañacia said the students went on a “day tour” island hopping excursion near the islets off Mactan to celebrate Easter Sunday.

At around 4 p.m., the motorbanca damaged its rudder on shallow waters near Tres Marias on the island of Pangan-an which is more than 30 kilometers from mainland Lapu-Lapu City.

The disaster management office, which received the report via a phone call from the passengers, immediately deployed Lapu-Lapu City’s sea ambulances.

But the tourists were only able to transfer to the sea ambulance past 9 p.m. due to a low tide.

Meanwhile, the Central Visayas police reported that the observance of the Holy Week in the region was “generally peaceful” because of police visibility, the establishment of a police assistance desk, and effective monitoring of sites where people converge during the long weekend break.

The police also conducted operations during the weekend and seized a total of P44.4 million worth of illegal drugs in Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor.

At least 151 were arrested for illegal drug activities while 282 individuals were also apprehended for illegal gambling in Central Visayas during the Holy Week break. At least 23 people were also arrested for illegal possession of firearms.

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