Boat sinks off Surigao; 1 dead

BUTUAN CITY – A pumpboat capsized in rough seas off Surigao City last Thursday morning, resulting in the death of a newly elected female municipal councilor. Eight other people, including the boat’s four crewmen, were rescued.

The boat, MB Sweet Merah, according to reports reaching regional authorities, was battered by huge waves and strong winds as it was crossing Surigao Strait, causing it to capsize off Nonoc Island.

Four of its passengers and the four crewmen were rescued hours later by a passing motorized banca.

The body of 68-year-old Florencia Binongo Alinsunod, recently elected councilor of Tubajon, a fifth-class municipality of Dinagat province, was later found on the shoreline of Barangay Talisay in Surigao City. – Ben Serrano