Coast Guard: 6 tourists rescued in Palawan, another 6 in Guimaras

Six tourists, four of them foreign nationals, were rescued after their motor boat encountered engine trouble and stalled off Palawan province last weekend, the Philippine Coast Guard said Monday.

The Coast Guard said on its website the tourists' boat was stranded about a mile southeast off CYC Beach in Coron, Palawan.

At the time, the M/B Bunzo 3E, with seven crew and six passengers, went dead in the water between Port of Coron and El Nido, Palawan.

Coast Guard Coron station personnel coordinated with the MB Bunzo 2A, sister boat of the distressed vessel, for rescue operations. Rescued were Romano Cabalhin, 31, Filipino; Mila Cabalhin, 32, Filipino; Lynda Deszpoth, 27, Canadian; Jemila Pirbnai, 25, Canadian; Mikkel Westenholz, 37, Danish; and Claudia Offermann, 27, German.

Palawan Coast Guard commander Commodore Enrico Efren Evangelista commended the Coast Guard's Coron personnel for the rescue.

The crew and passengers were in "good physical condition" and were transferred to the motor banca Overcomer 1 bound for El Nido, the Coast Guard said.

A record check showed the 25.23-ton MB Bunzo 3E is owned and operated by Edwin Cueto and skippered by Reynate Manga.

6 tourists rescued off Guimaras

In a separate incident, six local tourists including a minor were rescued by the Coast Guard after their motor boat got half-submerged in Bundulan Point in Jordan, Guimaras last Sunday, Feb. 2.

The Coast Guard said Tuesday the boat, owned by one John Rey Ganilla, was borrowed by the local tourists who wanted to take pictures of the shoreline of Jordan, Guimaras.

While crossing the waters of Bundulan Point, the boat was battered by big waves and capsized. Rescued were Nilo Ganila Jr., boat captain, 28; Jake Gabinira, 15; Raul Guerero,  38; Erich Gil Lopez, 27; John Diansen, 33; and Ashes Jhay Matalang, 27. — BM, GMA News