One person was killed after an outrigger boat capsized off Antique province in the Philippines’ Western Visayas region over the weekend.
The banca-type boat San Agustin IV had departed Antique’s Semirara Port with nine people on board on Saturday, September 5, and was en route to San Jose in Occidental Mindoro province when it capsized.
San Agustin IV’s owners said that they notified the Philippine Coast Guard after the boat failed to arrive at its final destination at its appointed time and communication with the crew could not be established.
The coast guard launched a search and rescue (SAR) operation that led to the discovery of the overturned boat off Antique’s Liwagao Island at around 06:30 local time on Sunday, September 7. Some of the survivors were found clinging to the boat’s hull to avoid being swept away by the current.
Tragically, one of the boat’s occupants was later pronounced deceased.
The coast guard said the SAR operation was undertaken amid challenging weather and sea conditions in the area.
The eight survivors and the lone deceased victim were later brought to Pinagpala Port in Antique to undergo medical assessments.
The overturned boat was meanwhile towed to Semirara by a civilian tug with coast guard personnel on board.