| WATERS OFF PORT OF SABTANG |
| 6 hurt as panic breaks out in stalled boat off Batanes ___________________ |
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| Inquirer Northern Luzon
By Juliet Cataluña, Villamor Visaya Jr. First Posted 13:12:00 01/18/2010 |
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| BASCO, Batanes — (UPDATE) At least six people were hurt on Monday when passengers of a boat sailing the waters of Batanes panicked and started a commotion after the engine of the vessel conked out near Sabtang Island, police said.
Chief Superintendent Roberto Damian, regional police director, however, said all 36 passengers and six crew members of the MB Navigator of the Sea were rescued at past 7 a.m. Inspector Fernando Narag, Sabtang police chief, said two passengers, Magencia Cielo and Aida Hostallero, were taken to a hospital in Sabtang for treatment of head injuries. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Narag, who witnessed the accident, alerted Philippine Coast Guard personnel in the town and with the help of residents, rescued the passengers and crew. Damian said that the MB Navigator, owned by Migdonio Faberes, left the Port of Sabtang at around 7 a.m. Monday and was bound for Port of San Vicente in Ivana town, Batanes. However, when the motor boat was just 15 meters away from the Port of Sabtang, the engine of the boat suddenly stopped. He said the passengers panicked and pushed each other when big waves started battering the boat some 15 meters from Sabtang port. When water started filling the vessel, many passengers jumped off the ship, Damian said. They were, however, immediately rescued and brought to shore. "With the boat being continuously battered by big waves, the passengers panicked and many jumped off," Damian said. Immediately, members of the Philippine Coast Guard launched a rescue operation and brought all the passengers to safety. Senior Superintendent Rolando Asuncion, acting Batanes police director, ordered police chiefs in the province to review their search and rescue plans so they can respond better to sea accidents. Reports said the boat, one of four vessels servicing Sabtang, was authorized to carry 40 passengers. It was damaged after it drifted toward a shallow and rocky portion off Sabtang. With reports from Abi Kwok __________________________________________________ 6 injured as boat stalls in Batanes By Dennis Carcamo (philstar.com) Updated January 18, 2010 01:45 PM MANILA, Philippines – Six people were hurt after they jumped into the water when the engine of a motorboat they were riding malfunctioned while on its way to a port in Batanes province, police said today. Seriously injured were Magencia Cielo and Aida Hostallero, both passengers of M/V Navigator of the Sea, owned by Migdonio Faberes. They are now being treated at the Sabtang Hospital along with four other passengers. Initial report showed that the passenger boat was about to ferry 36 passengers around 7 a.m. from Sabtang to the San Vicente, Ivana, Batanes port, when the vessel’s engine suddenly conked out and stopped 15 meters away from the shore. Some of the passengers panicked and leaped into the water as big waves pounded on the boat, police added. Coast guard and private ships' personnel in the area readily fished out the passengers from the water. The motorboat drifted and ran aground after hitting shallow water. Authorities later towed the vessel to the shoreline. __________________________________________________ |
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