Manila, Jul. 27, (dpa/GNA) – At least 21 people were killed when a passenger boat capsized in the Philippines on Thursday after being battered by strong winds, officials said.
The MBCA Princess Aya had just left Binangonan town in Rizal province, just east of Manila, when it was pummelled by a gust of wind, causing the passengers to panic.
“They went to the port side of the motor banca, causing the boat to tilt and capsize,” coastguard spokesman Rear Admiral Armand Balilo told a Manila radio station.
Balilo said that according to reports reaching the coastguard, 21 drowned in the incident, but added that authorities were confirming the toll.
The motorized outrigger was just 45 meters from the shore of a village in Binangonan when the accident happened. It was on its way to Talim Island, just 30 minutes away, he added.
The boat was allowed to sail after the storm warning over Rizal was lifted when Typhoon Doksuri blew out of the Philippines on Thursday morning, Balilo said.
Doksuri battered the northern Philippines, triggering floods, landslides and other accidents that left at least 8 dead and over 26,000 displaced.
GN