Fast craft, cargo vessel figure in sea collision near Mactan bridge
Emergency responders attend to injured passengers of a fast craft that reportedly collided with a cargo vessel Sunday afternoon while near the old bridge. | Photo grabbed from video of Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Several passengers on board a fast craft were injured after they figured in a collision with a cargo vessel at sea on Sunday afternoon, May 21.
The incident reportedly occurred around 3 p.m. on Sunday while the fast craft was sailing along the Mactan Channel, according to one of its passengers, Sio Montegrande Donayre.
Based on initial reports from the Philippine Coast Guard in Ormoc (PCG-Ormoc), the fast craft, owned and operated by SuperCat Ferry Corporation, had 185 passengers on board.
It departed Ormoc City in Leyte past 12 p.m., and was scheduled to arrive at Pier 1, Cebu City around 2 p.m.
However, while it was sailing within the vicinity of the first Mandaue-Mactan bridge, one side of the fast craft crashed into a nearby cargo vessel, Donayre said.
Another passenger, Anita Caydon, also said that the collision happened on one side of the fast craft. But passengers like her, who were seated on the middle portion of the fast craft, felt much of the impact, she added.
Caydon said she and her friend were playing Scrabble when all of a sudden, they got thrown off their seats. She felt a dull pain around her wrist after she tried to protect herself from the impact.
“Bigla-bigla lang yung nangyari,” she said.
| Photo form Lapu-Lapu City Nerve Center via Nagiel Bañacia
Rescue boats and tugboats towed the fast craft to Pier 1, Cebu City where first-aid personnel assist distressed passengers.
The PCG in Central Visayas (PCG-7) has yet to provide an official report on the incident as of this posting.
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