AT LEAST 10 passengers were injured after the fast ferry they were riding collided with a cargo vessel at the Mactan Channel on Sunday afternoon, May 21, 2023.
The incident happened around 2:45 p.m. while the fast ferry passed underneath the first Cebu-Mactan bridge.
Passengers said the impact caused onboard furniture and fixtures to be tossed around.
Laywer Erwin Nuñez, one of the passengers, said the SuperCat left the port of Ormoc in Leyte around noon and was expected to dock around 3 p.m. at Pier 1 in Cebu City.
Nuñez said that no one knew what really happened because the collision happened so quickly.
He fell on the floor under one of the chairs that got tossed around.
“The impact was so strong. I found myself under the chairs. My elbow was hurt and also my chest,” Nuñez said in Cebuano.
Passengers were reportedly dissappointed that rescuers took one hour to respond.
A member of the crew said the steering wheel of the SuperCat malfunctioned.
The Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and other agencies also responded to aid injured passengers.
The Philippine Coast Guard in Cebu has yet to issue a statement regarding the investigation of the maritime incident. (AYB, AML, BBT)