Passenger ship runs aground off Leyte

TACLOBAN CITY — An inter-island passenger ship plying the Baybay, Leyte-Cebu City route ran aground off the Baybay pier before dawn yesterday morning, forcing authorities to rescue the 113 people on board.

Policarpio Ilagan, Coast Guard commander in Ormoc City, denied reports that the M/V April Rose was overloaded, saying the ship had a capacity of 500 people.

He said strong winds and huge waves battered the ship, causing it to tilt. The ship’s captain, Rolando Lipio, ordered the passengers to leave their belongings and abandon the vessel at 9 a.m., two hours before the ship totally sank.

Meanwhile, nine crewmen of MT Marinero were rescued when the tugboat sank off the coast of Antique Monday night, the Coast Guard said. — Miriam Garcia Desacada, Jose Aravilla