A dream trip turned into a nightmare when a dive yacht carrying 32 passengers and crew capsized off Tubbataha, Palawan on Sunday morning, April 30, as search and rescue (SAR) operation was conducted to find four of its passengers who went missing.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said that its command center received information from Coast Guard District Palawan at 6:49 a.m. about the sinking of “M/Y Dream Keeper” off Tubbataha, which is home to marine protected area (MPA) Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park.
Out of the 32 individuals onboard, 12 are passengers/guests, 15 are crew members, and five are dive masters.
The PCG said that 28 of them, including four Chinese tourists, were already rescued. They were all brought to Coast Guard vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua for a physical checkup before being escorted to Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
Meanwhile, the remaining four missing individuals are all Filipinos: a dive master, the owner of the yacht, and two passengers. Their identities have yet to be disclosed.
Dream vacation turns into nightmare as dive yacht sinks off Palawan
At a glance
A dream trip turned into a nightmare when a dive yacht carrying 32 passengers and crew capsized off Tubbataha, Palawan on Sunday morning, April 30, as search and rescue (SAR) operation was conducted to find four individuals who went missing.
(M/Y Dream Keeper / Courtesy of PCG)
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said that its command center received information from Coast Guard District Palawan at 6:49 a.m. about the sinking of “M/Y Dream Keeper” off Tubbataha, which is home to marine protected area (MPA) Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park.
It was not immediately clear what caused the yacht to sink as investigation was ongoing. The yacht departed from San Remegio, Cebu City around 4 p.m. of April 27 and arrived at Tubbataha Reef around 10 p.m. of April 29.
“Itong Dream Catcher ay nag-accommodate ng turista para magkaroon ng diving experience sa Tubbataha. Pinache-check natin kung anong dahilan bakit lumubog itong kanilang yate sapagkat napakaganda naman ng panahon (This Dream Catcher accommodated tourists so they could have diving experience in Tubbataha. We are checking what caused the yacht to sink because the weather in the area is fine),” Rear Adm. Armando Balilo, PCG spokesperson, said in a radio interview with dzBB.
Balilo said part of the investigation is to determine whether the yacht sank while the tourists were already diving or if they were still on the way to their destination.
“Wala naman [gale warning] at iyon ang tinitignan natin. Sa ganitong oras, sisikapin natin makuha ‘yong iba pang nawawala para makapunta na tayo sa pagtatanong natin (There was no [gale warning] in the area and that is what we are looking into. Right now, we will do our best to find the missing individuals so we can proceed with our investigation),” he added.
“Hindi pa natin alam ‘yong detalye. Baka mamaya naka-angkla na sila at nagda-dive na. Hindi natin alam. Aalamin natin kung lumubog sila along the way (We don’t know yet the detail [why it capsized]. It might be that the yacht was already anchored and they were already diving. We don’t know. We will determine if they sank along the way),” Balilo stated.
Out of the 32 individuals onboard, 12 are passengers/guests, 15 are crew members, and five are dive masters.
The PCG said that 28 of them, including four Chinese tourists, were already rescued. They were all brought to Coast Guard vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua for a physical checkup before being escorted to Puerto Princesa, Palawan, according to Balilo.
Meanwhile, the remaining four missing individuals are all Filipinos: a dive master, the owner of the yacht, and two passengers. Their names have yet to be disclosed.
Balilo said the PCG also dispatched BRP Melchora Aquino (MRRV-9702) while the Coast Guard Sub-Station Tubbataha augmented other dive boats in the area to find the missing individuals.
The PCG also coordinated with the Palawan-based Western Command (WesCOm) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for the deployment of additional floating and aerial assets.