A Philippine passenger boat, MBCA Princess Aya, transporting dozens of people, including children have been overturned on Thursday by a strong wind in Laguna Lake, a town southeast of Manila.
According to the Police, who said that rescue operations in the Rizal province were continuing, at least 21 people have been confirmed dead and 40 others were rescued from the accident.
The incident reportedly happened as the passengers onboard suddenly moved to one side of the boat in panic when it came under fierce winds shortly after departing from a wharf for a nearby island.
According to a coast guard, the boat was said to have overturned only about 46 meters, 150 feet, from the shore, near the village of Kalinawan and the town of Binangonan.
The Rizal provincial police said they immediately launched a search and rescue operation with the help of the coast guard and other local authorities, and that at least 40 people were saved but that 21 others drowned.
Typhoon Doksuri moved on after battering the Northern Philippines and whipping up seasonal monsoon rains.
According to disaster response officials, the sinking brought the death toll from a week of stormy weather across the main island of Luzon to at least 30 people.
According to reports, at least nine people were killed earlier, mostly due to landslides, flooding and toppled trees while thousands have been displaced.
[Photo caption: In this image from a video provided by the Philippine
Coast Guard, a man stands on a capsized passenger boat as they undergo
rescue operations at Binangonan, Rizal province, east of Manila, Philippines on Thursday, July 27, 2023]