CEBU CITY—Thirty-five persons, including 15 children, were rescued from an unregistered fishing boat which capsized in the waters off Hilutungan, Cordova, Cebu, on Friday night.
Cmdr. Agapito Bibat, Coast Guard Cebu Station chief, said the unregistered fishing vessel was bound for Getafe, Bohol.
Staff members of the Nalusuan Beach Resort on nearby Nalusuan Island rescued all the passengers.
Heindrich Mendoza, the resort manager, said he instructed the captain of the resort’s boat to tow the capsized boat all the way to Getafe. The rescued passengers, he said, were welcomed by the barangay chairman and were fed.
One of the survivors, Raenel Bihasa, 20, who hails from Banakon Island in Getafe, Bohol, said they boarded the fishing vessel at the Pasil Fish Port in Cebu City on Friday afternoon.
Bihasa added that they arrived in Tangke, Talisay, at 3 p.m. on Friday to collect more passengers. Bihasa said water entered the vessel at around 6:30 p.m., after the engine exploded and punched a hole at the back of the boat.
Bihasa said the passengers threw the cargo over board to lighten the load of the boat.
The cargo was mostly sacks of rice for the fiesta in Getafe on Sunday, but that did not stop the water from entering, causing the motor banca to sink.
Bihasa said the passengers, especially the children, were clinging to the outrigger to survive, until help came.