A passenger ferryboat carrying 117 people struck floating debris at sea and started taking on water in the central Philippines on Saturday, August 5th, resulting in one fatality and the rescue of 100+ passengers. The accident occurred off the island town of Corcuera in Romblon province.
The wooden-hulled vessel King Sto Nino 7 was involved in the 3rd sea accident in the Philippines in just over a week.
During the scramble for safety as water flooded the ferry, all passengers and crew, except for one female passenger who suffered a heart attack, were successfully rescued. The coast guard and nearby ferry boats responded promptly to the distress calls made by some passengers, bringing the 112 passengers and 5 crew members to safety at a nearby village.
Sea accidents are unfortunately common in the Philippines due to factors such as frequent storms, poorly maintained boats, overcrowding, and lax enforcement of safety regulations.
The ferry boat, authorized to carry up to 96 passengers, had 90 passengers onboard at the time of the accident, according to the coast guard's report. However, there was a discrepancy between the figures reported by the police and the coast guard.
The cause of the accident was unclear, but the skipper suspected that a floating piece of log may have punctured a hole in the wooden hull.
In the preceding week, two other Philippine ferry accidents occurred in the Philippines. In one incident, a wooden ferry boat struck floating debris off Polillo island, and in another, an overcrowded ferry capsized in Laguna de Bay, resulting in 27 fatalities.
Criminal charges have been filed against the skipper, crew, owner, and coast guard officer of the overloaded ferry boat involved in the Laguna de Bay accident.
The Philippines has experienced tragic maritime disasters in the past, including the sinking of the ferry Dona Paz in December 1987, which collided with a fuel tanker, claiming the lives of over 4,300 people in the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster.