A fastcraft usually plying from Zamboanga City to Isabela City, Basilan, and back, sank while still moored at the Zamboanga City Port at around 3 a.m. on Tuesday.
The Isabela City local government posted on its social media that, based on initial reports, the fastcraft was anchored at the port area when it was suddenly hit by strong waves.
Boat captain Samuel Sabanal was cited as saying the crew discovered a hole in the engine room, which became a water entry.
Sabanal points to it as the reason for the boat’s sinking. He added that when the crew noticed the problem, they immediately took a water pump and tried to drain the water to no avail.
The boat completely sank at 5:20 a.m.
Sabanal clarified that he was not immediately informed of the problem, which he said could have been fixed sooner.
There were no casualties reported during the incident, while authorities were investigating the cause of the sinking.
Authorities will also conduct a salvage operation to raise the boat and prevent it from affecting port operations.
The fastcraft travels from Zamboanga City to Isabela City and vice versa twice a day./coa