Passenger boat capsizes in Philippines; 21 dead

Manila [Philippines], July 28: At least 21 people were killed when a passenger boat capsized in the Philippines on Thursday after being battered by strong winds, officials said.
The MBCA Princess Aya had just left Binangonan town in Rizal province, just east of Manila, when it was pummelled by a gust of wind, causing the passengers to panic.
"They went to the port side of the motor banca, causing the boat to tilt and capsize," coastguard spokesman Rear Admiral Armand Balilo told a Manila radio station.
Balilo said that according to reports reaching the coastguard, 21 drowned in the incident, but added that authorities were confirming the toll.
The motorized outrigger was just 45 meters from the shore of a village in Binangonan when the accident happened. It was on its way to Talim Island, just 30 minutes away, he added.
The Rizal provincial police said they immediately launched a search and rescue operation with the help of the coast guard and other local authorities, and that at least 40 people were saved but that 21 others drowned. "The operation is still ongoing," police said. They did not provide other details like how many passengers and crewmembers were on board.
A video released by the coast guard showed rescuers on a local government boat pulling a body out of the lake. Another video showed local fishermen aboard vessels approaching the overturned boat.
The boat was allowed to sail after the storm warning over Rizal was lifted when Typhoon Doksuri blew out of the Philippines on Thursday morning, Balilo said.
Sea travel was suspended in many ports during Doksuri's onslaught from Tuesday to Wednesday, stranding thousands of passengers and cargo trucks. The no-sail orders were gradually lifted on Thursday as weather improved in many areas. Doksuri battered the northern Philippines, triggering floods, landslides and other accidents that left at least 8 dead and over 26,000 displaced.
Sea accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago because of frequent storms, badly maintained boats, overcrowding and weak enforcement of safety regulations.
In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,300 people in the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster.
Source: Qatar Tribune