The Philippine Coast Guard is reporting that the boat captain and third mate on a water taxi were killed during a collision with a passenger vessel on January 31.
Based on the initial investigation, the passenger vessel Ocean Jet 6 was underway from Batangas to Calapan, while water taxi Hop & Go 1 was en route to Batangas from Puerto Galera when the maritime incident occurred.
The Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard has ordered an investigation regarding the collision in the vicinity waters off Verde Island, Batangas.
Meanwhile, all 105 passengers and 19 crew of Ocean Jet 6 are reported safe and in good physical condition when they arrived at Calapan port.
According to Coast Guard two Filipino crew, the boat captain and third mate, of Hop & Go 1 lost their lives due to the incident.
Two other crew members went to Coast Guard sub-station Puerto Galera to provide their sworn statements regarding the incident, in order to determine the cause of the collision.
Two of the four Chinese passengers were wounded, while the remaining two were in good physical condition, reads the coast guard statement.
Meanwhile, the Swedish passenger decided to return home. In total, Hop & Go 1 had four Filipino crew and five foreign passengers on board.
The responding team towed Hop & Go 1 to Puerto Galera, where its yard is located.
The wounded passengers received medical assistance, while the authorities are coordinating with the bereaved families of the two Filipino crew.
