Antique: Four passengers on board a motorboat that capsized between the waters of the islands of Mararison and Batbatan in Culasi, Antique have been rescued. Antique Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PDRRM) Officer Broderick Train said in an interview that the passengers were on their way home to the island barangay of Batbatan when the incident occurred.

According to Philippines News Agency, one of the passengers, 12-year-old Cherry Ann Mateo, swam for over two hours from the site of the incident to the island barangay to seek help from barangay officials and fisherfolk of Batbatan. This quick action enabled the municipal DRRM office of Culasi to be informed immediately, while local fisherfolk had already commenced rescue operations.

Dante Salvador, 60 years old and believed to be the motorboat crew, also managed to swim to the shorelines of Barangay Batbatan. The two remaining passengers, Angelita Patricio and Rose Salvador, were finally rescued early the following morning after being spotted by rescuers hanging on to the motorboat.

Train reported that all four passengers, who were supposedly on their way home from the Culasi town proper, have now been reunited with their families in the island barangay of Batbatan. The motorboat was retrieved by the Philippine Coast Guard and the Maritime Police. Train mentioned that the passengers might have traveled from Batbatan to Culasi to sell dried fish, which is their source of livelihood.