A passenger boat capsized in Laguna Lake in Binangonan, Rizal shortly after noontime on Thursday, July 27.
Binangonan Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Office (MDRRMO) Officer Jun Hernandez confirmed to Manila Bulletin that reports of fatalities were coming in, a few minutes after he received messages from residents of Binangonan’s Talim Island that a passenger boat ferrying several persons capsized between 12:30 and 1 p.m. in Laguna Lake, Barangay Kalinawan.
Hernandez said the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and barangay chairpersons in the areas were immediately informed by the MDRRMO to seek for immediate rescue of the passengers who were believed to have been trapped under the boat that reportedly overturned.
Netizens have posted on Facebook a video showing several persons lying on the ground and being carried to another place.
Netizen Leslie Nayve Rivera requests to share a Facebook post showing a logbook dated July 27, 2023 bearing 34 names of the supposed survivors of the incident.
Barangay Kalinawan Chairman Virgilio Cerda confirmed that the incident happened in his village.
He was in a meeting at the Binangonan Recreation and Conference Center at the mainland in Binangonan with several co-village chairmen and municipal officials when he received the information about the Laguna Lake tragedy.
He said he was already on his way to the place of incident to personally assist in the rescue and retrieval efforts.
This is a developing story.