ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Philippine Navy and Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi personnel together with the Royal Malaysian Navy rescued six crew members and 15 passengers of a stranded Philippine vessel in Malaysian waters on Sunday, Feb. 26.
Brig. Gen. Romeo Racadio, Joint Task Force Tawi Tawi commander, confirmed the rescue of passengers and crew members of the M/L Rihanna in seas off Tagupi Island in Sabah.
The captain of the motorized launch radioed for help after the vessel encountered engine trouble en route to Taganak Island in Tawi-Tawi Province on Friday, Feb. 24.
The passengers of the M/L Rihanna were brought to Bongao Tawi-Tawi after the vessel encountered engine trouble in seas off Malaysia. (WestMinCom photo)
Naval Task Group Tawi-Tawi coordinated with their Malaysian counterparts and dispatched the BRP Florencio Iñigo, a Navy vessel, to conduct search and rescue operations.
The Royal Malaysian Navy spotted the vessel within its waters and towed the distressed boat to its anchorage area in Tanjung Labian, Malaysia.
The Navy boat later towed the vessel to Lamion Wharf in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.
All passengers safely disembarked and were given medical attention and later turned over to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office and the social welfare office in Tawi-Tawi.
“The search and rescue operations were successfully executed through the established coordination with the MCC Tawau, and collaboration between the Bongao Littoral Monitoring System (LMS), MSAC, Naval Forces Western Mindanao, and Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi,” said Rear Admiral Donn Anthony Miraflor.