Personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard immediately rescued 16 Chinese tourists drifting at sea after were thrown into the water during a collision of their boat with another motorized banca in Malay, Aklan.
Police Brig. Gen. Rene Pamuspusan, director of the Western Visayas regional police, said the Chinese tourists were on the island hopping when the incident occurred some 50 meters away from the shoreline of Bolabog Beach.
But the tourist boat MBCA LMJ Island the Chinese were riding in, according to Pamuspusan, collided with a service boat FB Jin Ju, resulting in the tourists falling into the seawater.
A vessel of the Philippine Coast Guard immediately proceeded to the area and rescued the 16 Chinese tourists.
“All 16 Chinese nationals were taken to the Ciriaco S. Tirol hospital for medical treatment,” said Pamuspusan.
He said all the Chinese tourists suffered minor injuries as a result of the collision.
“The two captains of the involved boat were brought to Coast Guard headquarters for investigation and proper disposition,” said Pamuspusan.
Chinese tourists are one of the frequent visitors of Boracay aside from South Koreans.
Recently, there were complaints of increase in the price of commodities and services in Boracay due to Chinese tourists, while some restaurant are allegedly exclusive for Chinese tourists. (Aaron Recuenco)
