SEVENTEEN people were rescued Friday, January 3, 2020 after a motor boat sank off the coast of Barangay Old Sagay, Sagay City due to bad weather.
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)-Negros Occidental chief Lieutenant Commander Jansen Benjamin said based on information he received from the local PCG sub-station in Sagay, the boat with 15 passengers and two crew members left the city bound for Carbin reef located off the coast of the city.
However, the boat reportedly encountered strong waves as it left port that caused its engines to suddenly stopped working.
Water soon began pouring into the vessel causing it to sink.
Benjamin said the city’s local disaster risk reduction management office and the local PCG sub-station immediately conducted a rescue operation for the 17 passengers and crew.
No one was killed or injured in the incident as all of them were saved by the rescuers.