ILOILO City – Big waves created by a passing fast craft damaged a Guimaras-bound wooden-hulled motorboat at the Iloilo Strait yesterday afternoon.
The boat’s four crew members were rescued by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
“The motorboat left Iloilo City’s Parola at around 1:09 p.m. Ginhampak ini sang balod tuga sang fast craft. Nawasak ang mga plywood nga nagaserbe dagpak sang sakayan,” said PCG Iloilo deputy station commander Albino Rodriguez.
MB Tassel was a passenger vessel with special permit to carry cargoes. It was loaded with 130 sacks of rice, 30 sacks of feeds and 10 sacks of sugar.
The boat was not overloaded despite an estimated eight tons of load, said Rodriguez.
Coastguards towed the damaged boat to Fort San Pedro.
With the help of some nearby residents, they were also able to secure sacks of rice, feeds and sugar./PN