Fifty-three passengers were rescued after big wave’s capsized two bancas in Sagay City and one in San Carlos City waters in Negros Occidental on Sunday, March 20.
Sagay Mayor Alfredo Marañon III said two motorized bancas capsized in the waters off Molocaboc Island late Sunday and as of Sunday night, 43 persons had been rescued.
He was informed that those on board the bancas were motorcycle riders from various parts of Negros Occidental who had gone on an outing in Molocaboc, Marañon said.
Ten passengers on a motorized banca that capsized off the coast near the boulevard of San Carlos City were also rescued at 2 p.m. Sunday, Joe Recalex Alingasa, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) head, said.
All victims were rescued to safety by some local fisherfolk with the Water Search and Rescue Teams from the CDRRMO and Task Force Bantay Dagat, he said.
Witnesses said the boat was already approaching the wharf when big waves hit it causing it to tilt and eventually capsize.
The passengers and the boat operator are all residents of San Carlos City.
One of the victims, a 68 year-old woman, who was saved from drowning was brought to the local hospital with elevated blood pressure and breathing difficulty, Alingasa said.
Following the sea mishap, Mayor Rene Gustilo ordered the immediate cancellation of pump boat trips plying the route to and from the island of Sipaway due to the unsafe sea condition, he added.*