ANTIQUE — One person died while eight others were rescued after a motorboat capsized off the waters of Sitio Liwagao, Semirara Island, Caluya, Antique, on September 6.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said the MBCA San Agustin IV capsized at around 6:30 a.m. to 6:45 a.m. after failing to reach its scheduled destination in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro.
The vessel departed Semirara Port at around 2 p.m. on September 5 and was bound for Barangay Caminawit in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro. It was expected to arrive at Kaminawit Port at about 5 p.m. the same day.
The boat owner alerted the PCG after the vessel failed to arrive at its scheduled docking time and its crew could no longer be contacted.
Local reports indicated that sea conditions became rough between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday, prompting the Coast Guard to coordinate a search-and-rescue operation.
The PCG-Semirara Station initially attempted to conduct a rescue operation Saturday evening but was unable to proceed because of stormy weather.
Early Sunday morning, Coast Guard personnel from Semirara, with assistance from a tugboat of Semirara Mining Corp., resumed the search.
At around 6:30 a.m., rescuers located the San Agustin IV capsized off Barangay Sibulo, Liwagao Island, with several people clinging to its keel.
Eight individuals were rescued and brought to Pinagpala Port in Barangay Semirara for medical evaluation and assistance.
One person died in the incident. The PCG initially did not release the identity of the fatality, while a separate report identified the casualty as Remilyn Bartolo, a resident of Barangay Semirara.
Meanwhile, the PCG-Semirara Station, aboard MTUG Jun Yeu, began towing the capsized vessel toward Semirara Island.
The PCG-Antique and PCG-Semirara stations are continuing their investigation to determine the circumstances that led to the boat’s capsizing.
Authorities have yet to release a definitive account of the cause of the incident./PN
