More than 20 dead as boat capsizes in Binangonan

MANILA, Philippines – At least 27 people died when a motor boat capsized in Binangonan, Rizal, on Thursday, July 27, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported.

Forty-three people survived the mishap, including the captain and boat engineer, who were taken into custody by authorities for investigation.

In a media briefing on Thursday at midnight, the Coast Guard reported an overloading problem as the boat’s capacity was designed for only 42 passengers.

Members of the Coast Guard were seen pulling a body of what looked like a woman without a life vest from choppy waters as they carried out search and rescue operations, a video shared by the PCG showed.

The motorized banca MBCA Princess Aya was about 45 meters (147 feet) from land when it was hit by strong winds, causing all passengers to panic and move to one side, which caused the vessel to capsize off the waters of Binangonan, the PCG said.

Binangonan is a coastal town just two hours of drive from the capital, Manila. Its coast line faces Laguna de Bay (Laguna Lake).

The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands, was this week hit by Typhoon Egay (Doksuri) which brought winds of up to 175 km an hour (108 miles an hour) to its northern and most populated Luzon island.

Some ferries and boats were allowed to sail on Thursday after Doksuri left the Philippines.

The Southeast Asian nation has a poor record for maritime safety, with vessels at times overcrowded and many ageing ships still in use.

PCG has already started an investigation and two of its personnel assigned to the place of the incident were dismissed to ensure a “fair, honest, and transparent investigation.“ – with reports from Reuters, James Patrick Cruz/Rappler