Eight motorboat passengers bound for Bataan from Lubang Island in Occidental Mindoro were rescued by the Coast Guard off the coast of Mariveles town over the weekend.

The Coast Guard Detachment in Mariveles received a distressed call at 9:30 a.m. Saturday from a certain Mr. Liloc, who was onboard F/B Lucky Agnes, asking for emergency rescue assistance.

The boat, skippered by Cezar Ebilanehe, was in the waters off Fortune Island in Batangas province, Liloc said.

Rescue teams from the Coast Guard Station Bataan were immediately dispatched to conduct triangular search pattern operations. After almost five hours of continuous search and coordination with local barangays and relatives of the boat passengers, the vessel was located and its passengers rescued.

Reports received by the Coast Guard Action Center in Manila disclosed that Ebilane, together with seven relatives, left Mariveles onboard F/B Lucky Agnes at around 8 p.m. Wednesday last week. They sailed to Lubang Island for a four-day family visit.

On Saturday, while on their way back home, Ebilanehe noticed that there was an unusual flow of water at the forward section of the banca.

Upon checking, the boat captain found out that there was a punctured hole approximately 8×8 inches in diameter on the forward starboard side of the boat. But the boat captain still continued the voyage under low speed, applied shoring using a thick cloth, and manually bilged out the water.

Following are the rescued passengers of F/B Lucky Agnes:

1. Cezar Ebilane, 58 years old (boat Captain)
2. Enriqueta Carillo, 76
3. Mercedez Angeles, 54
4. Gregorio Orola, 73
5. Remelito Velasco, 23
6. Leonard Landoy, 55
7. Luzonica Pagaligan, 54
8. Alberto Pagaligan, 59

All survivors are residents of Zone 5, Camaya, Mariveles, Bataan.