MANILA – A crew member of MV Oceanic Explorer 3 is still missing after the yacht sank off Bauan, Batangas due to the onslaught of Typhoon Quinta, an official of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.
Commodore Armando Balilo, PCG spokesperson, said the PCG sub-station in Bauan, Batangas is continuing its search and rescue efforts to find Rodolfo Sarabia, the last crew member still missing after the rescue of seven other crew members of the sunken vessel.
“May dalawang maritime incidents sa Batangas. Isang yate ang lumubog sa Mabini. Pito ligtas at may hinahanap pang isa (There were two maritime incidents in Batangas. One yacht sank in Mabini (Batangas). Seven were rescued and one is still missing),” Balilo said.
In an incident report, the PCG said the vessel sank due to bad weather and rough sea conditions 0.5 nautical miles off Keppel Shipyard, Barangay San Roque in Bauan at 7 a.m.
The rescued crew members, namely Tomas Del Rosario, Jaime Mete Jr., Jonhpaul Servando, Juliet Mayang, Andres Lazalita, Jove Muchillas, and Archei Gallardo, were taken aboard MTUG Cedar 6 by the PCG.
As of 2:30 p.m., Sarabia has not yet been found, and search and rescue efforts are still ongoing.
Another ship, roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessel MV RoRo-12 ran aground at Bonito Island in Tingloy, Maricaban in Batangas around 8 a.m. also due to Quinta, the PCG said.
Five crew members of the said vessel took shelter in Bonito Island before being assisted by the PCG.
In total, 10 maritime incidents have been reported and monitored by the PCG in Batangas during the onslaught of Quinta — two sinking incidents, four vessels ran aground, and four more incidents under verification.