At least 70 passengers and five crewmen of a motor boat were rescued after the seacraft sank off Hilutungan waters in Cordova town at past 2 a.m. yesterday, a Coast Guard official said.<\/p>\n
Rolando Punzalan, Coast Guard station commander, said the owner of the MB Ardie Express will be investigated since the boat had a license to carry only cargo, not passengers.<\/p>\n
Punzalan said the Coast Guard would also investigate if the boat was overloaded.<\/p>\n
He admitted this would be difficult because the passengers were not listed on a manifest.<\/p>\n
The Ardie Express, which was bound for Pasil fish port in this city, left Talibon port in Bohol at p.m. last Thursday, Punzalan said.<\/p>\n
He said the Coast Guard received a report at 2 a.m. that the boat was starting to sink in the Hinulungan Channel.<\/p>\n
Punzalan said one of the passengers managed to call a sibling, who then asked assistance from the Cebu Coast Guard.<\/p>\n
The accident site was near the mangrove area in between Hilutungan island and mainland Cordova town,<\/p>\n
The passengers and crewmen were rescued two hours later by another motor boat that passed through the area, the Coast Guard said.<\/p>\n
Punzalan said the boat engineer identified as Jaime Lomod claimed that the boat\u2019s exhaust was detached, so the water seeped inside. Correspondent Jhunnex Napallacan with an Inquirer report<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At least 70 passengers and five crewmen of a motor boat were rescued after the seacraft sank off Hilutungan waters in Cordova town at past 2 a.m. yesterday, a Coast Guard official said. Rolando Punzalan, Coast Guard station commander, said the owner of the MB Ardie Express will be investigated since the boat had a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1242,1227],"tags":[119,29507],"byline":[],"source":[206068],"column":[],"editor":[],"videographer":[],"position":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n