All 67 passengers and crew of a passenger boat in distress in the waters off Polillo town, Quezon have been rescued on Thursday. In an incident report, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said the 33.8 gross tonnage motorbanca Jovelle Express 3 left the Patnanungan Port at Barangay Macnit, Polillo at 10 a.m. and was headed to Real town, Quezon province with 60 passengers, seven crew, and carrying a cargo of 15 polystyrene boxes of assorted fish. The PCG Station Northern Quezon reported that the passengers were provided adequate life vests before they left port in good weather conditions. ‘While underway, said boat incurred damage to its forward part as a hard material accidentally hit the boat causing the motorbanca to take in water,’ the PCG said. At around 1 p.m., the PCG Sub Station Patnanungan received a distress message from one of the boat’s passengers. ‘The Coast Guard immediately dispatched their Deployable Response Group and departed Patnanungan Port onboard motorbanca ‘Leonor Dos’ and established contact with motorbanca ‘AdaJay’ which was rendering assistance to Jovelle Express 3 at the incident area,’ it said. PCG Station Northern Quezon has also directed its substation in Polillo to proceed to the location for additional assistance. All passengers were brought to the barangay hall of Barangay Macnit and assessed to be in good physical condition. ‘Currently, the team is awaiting the provision of a boat to transport the said crew and passengers to the intended port of destination,’ it said.
Source: Philippines News Agency
