DAVAO CITY – A motorboat carrying 45 passengers and four crew members bound for the Island Garden City of Samal, sank on Sunday just as it was about to leave the Sta. Ana Wharf.
In a phone interview, Lt. Commodore George Maganto, commander of the Coast Guard Station in Davao, said the passengers and crew on board MV Sam Christopher were about to depart from the wharf at 7:55 a.m. to go island hopping when the boat captain found it difficult to maneuver because the rope connected to the sinker got entangled in the propeller.
Maganto said the boat was about 150 meters away from the wharf when it gradually sank.
He said the tension between the propeller and the sinker created a hole underneath the motorboat.
“Nagkaroon ng butas sa ilalim ng banca, then doon pumasok yung tubig kaya slowly nag submerge yung banca (It created a hole underneath the motorboat and the water began to seep in, causing the boat to sink)," Maganto said.
Personnel of the nearby Coast Guard Station Davao, together with the Central 911, Task Force Davao, Maritime group, and personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection immediately responded to the emergency.
"They immediately came over so we were able to rescue them (passengers and crew)," he said.
Maganto said 10 of the 45 passengers were children. He also dismissed speculations that the boat was overloaded because it has a seating capacity of 56.
"All 45 passengers were rescued,” he said, noting that no one was missing.
Maganto said all the passengers were also wearing life vests, making it easy to rescue them.
The Coast Guard will still conduct further investigation together with the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) to know the actual cause of the accident, he said, assuring that the motorboats undergo annual inspection by Marina to ensure seaworthiness. (PNA)
