A total of 37 people were briefly stranded in a coastal town in Bohol province when rough waves caused the motor banca they were riding to run aground.
Coast guard officials in Bohol told GMANews.TV that M/B Clemer, with 29 passengers and eight crewmen on board, left Pier Uno in Cebu City and began crossing the Cebu Strait at about 11:35 a.m.
Petty Officer (PO) 1 Zenon Lomarda said in a phone interview that while cruising off the coast of Cabul-an Island in Buenavista town, the group's vessel was met by large waves brought about by strong winds.
The boat's captain, however, steered the seacraft and maneuvered it toward the nearest shoreline before running aground about 12:30 p.m.
"Natamaan sila ng malaking alon, na-flooded ang bangka pero ang kapitan magaling. Nadala pa niya sa malapit sa pampang pero nag-run aground," Lomarda said.
The Coast Guard official said it took almost two hours after the sea incident happened before the large waves subsided. The rescue team were only able to reach the place at about 2:20 p.m.
"We tried going to the shoreline but it was too shallow. Instead, we asked fishermen in smaller boats to ferry the people," Lomarda recounted.
Lomarda said they had to call up the vessel's owner, a certain Ernesto Socobos, to dispatch another vessel that would rescue the people.
"Wala naman tayong sariling craft dito sa Bohol kaya nag-request pa kami sa may-ari," Lomarda explained.
The passengers and crew were transfered to a sister vessel, Clemer 5, and brought to their destination in Calape town, also in Bohol province.
Buenavista is a fourth class municipality in the northern part of Bohol province with a population of 25,960 people in 4,550 households. - GMANews.TV
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Topic: 37 people stranded off Bohol coast rescued feb. 15, 2008, 7:16 p.m. (Read 980 times)