Waves wreck small cargo boat in Basilan
COTABATO CITY — Big waves spawned by strong sudden winds wrecked a wooden boat full of grocery supplies while approaching Isabela City in Basilan from the Zamboanga peninsula on Saturday.
Officials of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and the Army’s 101st Infantry Brigade told reporters on Sunday that all crew men of the ill-fated boat were promptly rescued by personnel of a Philippine Coast Guard Unit in Basilan and emergency responders from the Isabela City local government unit.
Local officials said the small, motorized boat from Zamboanga City was first rocked left and right by big waves before it was virtually shattered into pieces while at the sea near a beachfront area in Barangay Baluno in Isabela City, one of two cities in Basilan that also has 11 towns.
Citing initial reports by their intelligence operatives in Isabela City, Brig. Gen. Alvin V. Luzon, commander of the 101st Infantry Brigade, said that all of the individuals aboard the damaged boat had been accounted for. — John Felix M. Unson
