9 missing as boat capsizes off Iloilo

MANILA, Philippines - Nine family members reportedly went missing when their fishing boat capsized in rough seas near North Gigante Island in Iloilo City on New Year’s Day.

Philippine Coast Guard Western Visayas commander Capt. Athelo Ybanez said search and rescue operations began yesterday morning.

Ybanez said they received “sketchy” information about the incident that occurred at around 5:30 p.m.

Initial investigation showed that the members of the Bartolome family spent New Year’s Eve at the house of a relative on Nabunot Island in Carles, Iloilo.

F/B Reynaldo, which they boarded to return home to Barangay Asluman on North Gigante Island, encountered rough seas and capsized some nine nautical miles off North Gigante Island. 

Only the operator of the vessel, 53-year-old Reynaldo Bartolome, managed to swim toward the shore of Barangay Lantangan.