By Marisol Bo-oc | 03:16 PM December 23, 2022
A passenger vessel ran aground past 5 a.m. Friday off the coast of Tubigon in Bohol.
Rescue operations are ongoing to transfer the passengers and crew members of FastCat to the port as of 11 a.m., according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
The Philippine Coast Guard in Central Visayas (PCG-7) and the local government unit of Tubigon town in Bohol has successfully rescued 40-50 percent of the 289 passengers on board the fastcraft.
“40-50 percent of the pax onboard (were) safely transferred to port,” said Lieutenant Junior Grade Stephen Pagcaliwagan, the public information officer and operations officer of PCG-Central Visayas.
He said the FastCat vessel was on its way to Tubigon, Bohol, from Cebu City, when it hit a shallow part of the sea.
The vessel had 289 passengers, 47 crew, and 35 rolling cargoes.
However, Pagcaliwagan said there were no signs of an oil spill in the area where the vessel ran aground.