An 18-year-old youth who jumped off a passenger vessel in the waters off Liloan town, northern Cebu may have under the influence of drugs.
Luckily, the man was rescued by crew members of MV St. John Paul of 2GO Shipping which was enroute to Manila when the incident happened in the vicinity of Bagacay Point Lighthouse past 2 p.m. yesterday.
The vessel left Pier 6 in Cebu City at 12:30 p.m.
Commodore Enrico Evangelista of Coast Guard-Cebu Station said they received the report at 2:15 p.m.
The man was rescued at 3:12 p.m.
Evangelista said the man swam away from rescuers, and it took several minutes before he was fished out of the water.
After he was rescued, the teenager was brought to the vessel’s clinic where the doctor discovered that he was high on drugs.
The passenger was later transferred to a cabin guarded by security personnel to avoid any untoward incident until the vessel reached its destination.
In a text message to Cebu Daily News, Angelito Salvio, vice president of 2GO, said the man was from El Salvador, Misamis Oriental.
The passenger and his 27-year-old friend were on their way to Manila to apply for jobs.