After almost 10 hours of being stranded at sea, a total of 88 passengers and 55 crew members early on Wednesday were rescued from a roll-on, roll-off (roro) vessel that ran aground in waters off Talibon town.
Seaman 2nd Class Abutalid Atalad of the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) Talibon substation said MV Starlite Saturn ran aground at past 6 p.m. on Tuesday while buffeted by strong winds as it was travelling from Surigao City to Cebu City on Tuesday.
A gale warning was hoisted over the region when the incident happened.
According to Atalad, the passengers were rescued by PCG and Navy personnel who facilitated their to a FastCat’s MV Camael which is operated by the same company which owns the ill-fated vessel.
All of the passengers and crew members were safely taken aboard the fastcraft at 3 a.m.
Atalad said Rescuers were unable to immediately transfer the passengers to another vessel due to strong current.
“Mag 10 p.m. tua na ang Coast Guard dito pero dila pa ma transfer kay kusog pa ang bawod gabii mao gihuwat pa na mo kalma ang dagat. Hinay-hinay sila hantod na hurot tanan pasehero og balhin,” he said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, MV Starlite Saturn which still had on board several vehicles remained stranded at the Danajon Bank off Barangay Calituban, Talibon.
Atalad added that authorities were still waiting for high tide to allow then to pull the vessel to safety.
The rescued passengers were immediately ferried to Cebu City, their original destination. (A. Doydora)