Passenger boat sinks off Quezon province

More than 20 passengers were rescued after their ferry sank off the coast of Dinahican, Infanta town in Quezon province on Tuesday afternoon.

The passenger boat left Panukulan town and was on its way to the town of Infanta when it was hit by huge waves around 3 p.m.

Suspense and tension gripped the passengers of the second boat, as shown in a video footage. The motorized boat can be seen slowly sinking into the sea and the passengers in a second boat doubling efforts to rescue the survivors.

The said video, which was taken by Tania Nolledo from another boat, shows the vessel disappear as its passengers can be seen floating on the rough waters.

The passengers in the second boat, meanwhile, rushed to throw life vests and ropes into the sea to pull the survivors to safety.

There were no reports of deaths or injuries in the incident.

The Philippine Coast Guard, meanwhile, will conduct an investigation into the mishap.

As of Wednesday morning, the PCG is awaiting the arrival of the owners of the capsized boat. They said the owners may be held liable for the accident.

The PCG meanwhile dismissed allegations that rescue operations were slow. — BAP/KG, GMA News