Grounded yacht far from Tubbataha Reef — PHL Coast Guard 

A Philippine Coast Guard official on Friday clarified earlier reports indicating that a yacht ran aground in Tubbataha Reef.

In a phone-patch interview on "News To Go," Lt. Greanata Jude, spokesman for the Philippine Coast Guard in Palawan, said the yacht got stuck in Basterra Reef, which is approximately 49 nautical miles (90.748 kilometers) from the Tubbataha Reef, declared a natural world heritage site.



"Napakalayo po from Tubbataha Reef," she said.

Jude added that Coast Guard personnel have rescued two foreigners — an American and a Palau resident— who were on the grounded vessel that was supposedly on its way to Borneo from Dumaguete.

"According to her [yacht] chart, malayo pa po siya sa reef, unfortunately, hindi nagtugma 'yung chart niya sa current location," Jude said.

Meanwhile, authorities have yet to assess the damage to the yacht, Jude quoted one of the foreigners as saying, adding that water has entered in one portion of the vessel.

Last year, a Chinese fishing vessel ran aground in Tubbataha Reef, only three months after a US minesweeper also ran aground in the world heritage site.

The USS Guardian damaged 2,345.67 square meters of coral reefs.

However, the Chinese fishing vessel caused worse damage to the heritage site, according to Tubbataha Management Office, quoting a team of scientists that analyzed the damage caused by the F/V Min Long Yu last April 8. — Amanda Fernandez /LBG, GMA News