PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — A sinking tourist boat with two crew onboard was rescued Monday off the vicinity of Helicopter Island in El Nido.
Captain Cherryl Tindog, chief of the Public Affairs Office of the Western Command (Wescom) said Monday night the Philippine Navy’s (PN) BRP Nestor Reinoso (PC 380) was dispatched around noon to help the sinking M/B Cleopatra by the Joint Task Force Malampaya (JTFM) and the Naval Forces West.
She said the JTFM, a special task force that takes care of the security of the offshore Malampaya Natural Gas Project MNGP), spotted the motorized banca around 12:25 p.m. near Helicopter Island and ws being helped by the crew of a speedboat owned by Miniloc Island.
“At around 12 noon, the JTFM received a telephone call from Capt. Lakanni Hidalgo, security officer of the El Nido Resorts, who reported the incident regarding the motor banca,” Tindog said.
When interviewed by rescue authorities, M/B Cleopatra skipper, Hayrone Sulayman, said they departed on the morning of August 6 from the shoreline of El Nido for a private island tour with 10 Filipino guests, a tour guide, and three crewmen to go to the Small Lagoon near Miniloc Island.
However, on their way to the site, their boat “encountered big waves causing its bow to crack and for water to start flowing inside.”
Tindog said Sulayman ordered his guests to go to the fantail of the boat, hoping for the bow to remain afloat but failed due to strong waves.
“Other tourist boats nearby provided them assistance. They managed to transfer all their guests to another tourist boat. The crew, however, remained on the sinking tourist boat which was quickly drifting towards Helicopter and Calaragnan islands,” she said.
Tindog added the Navy ship was able to tow M/B Cleopatra to the shore of El Nido at around 1:00 p.m. All its passengers were safe.
Four days ago, the Navy ship BRP Nestor Reinoso also figured in the rescue of 28 fishermen from their capsized boat 35 nautical miles off El Nido.
All from Caminawit, San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, they were on their way to the West Philippine Sea fishing grounds when strong waves due to the southwest monsoon sank their motorized fishing boat. (Celeste Anna Formoso/PNA)
