35 injured in collision at Mactan Channel involving fast craft, cargo vessel
A closer look at the damaged portion of the fast craft. | Photo form Lapu-Lapu City Nerve Center via Nagiel Bañacia
CEBU CITY, Philippines – At least 35 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, 2023, here.
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.
But while it was sailing within the vicinity of the old Mandaue-Mactan bridge, one side of the fast craft crashed into a nearby cargo vessel, Donayre said.
As of 7 p.m. on Sunday, there were 35 passengers who reported injured, said Harold Alcontin, Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO).
Eighteen out of the 35 injured were rushed to different hospitals for treatment, Alcontin added.
Another passenger, Anita Caydon, said that the collision happened all of a sudden.
Passengers like her, who were seated on the middle portion of the fast craft, felt much of the impact, she said.
Caydon and her friend were playing Scrabble when 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.
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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