18 rescued from Sulu sea mishap
COTABATO CITY --- Emergency responders rescued 18 passengers of an outrigger boat that capsized some two miles from the shores of the seaside Maimbung town in Sulu on Saturday.
In a statement Sunday, the Sulu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said the rescued boat passengers are residEnts of Talipao, supposedly bound for Tapul to attend an important clan gathering.
Tapul is an island town which is quite distant from Patikul municipality in mainland Sulu province.
The Sulu PDRRMO said the rescue operation was a joint initiative of the Army’s 41st Infantry Battalion, the Philippine Coast Guard and the local government unit of Maimbung.
In a separate statement, Gov. Hadji Abdusakur Tan, chairperson of the multi-sector provincial disaster risk reduction and management council, said he is grateful to all responders responsible for the prompt rescue of the 18 seafarers.
Ten of the 18 sea mishap survivors are minors, according to the Sulu PDRRMO.
All of them were reunited with their families after examination by government physicians.