MANILA: The Philippine coast guard rescued all 67 people from a ferry boat that struck a floating object and took on water Thursday off a northeastern province, in the second ferry accident to hit the country in a week, officials said.
A passenger on the Jovelle Express 3 managed to contact a coast guard station for help when the vessel was damaged after slamming into an unspecified object around midday off Polillo island in Quezon province, the coast guard said.
The 60 passengers and seven crew members were brought to Polillo and were awaiting another boat to take them to their destination in Quezon.
Last week, at least 27 people died when an overcrowded ferry boat flipped over in Laguna de Bay minutes after leaving Binangonan town southeast of the capital, Manila. Strong winds had lashed the boat sparking panic among many passengers, who moved to one side of the wooden boat and caused it flip over, the coast guard and police said.
More than 40 other passengers and crew members on the Aya Express were rescued, the coast guard said.
Criminal charges have been filed against the wooden-hulled boat’s skipper, his two crew, the owner and a coast guard officer who allowed the overloaded ferry to sail.
The skipper acknowledged that he knew the ferry was over capacity but told authorities he could not convince the excess passengers to disembark, coast guard officials said.
Sea accidents are common in the Philippines because of frequent storms, poorly maintained boats, overcrowding and weak enforcement of safety regulations.
In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,300 people in the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster.
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Philippine coast guard rescues 67 people from damaged boat in the second ferry accident in a week
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Philippine coast guard rescues 67 people from damaged boat in the second ferry accident in a week
- Passenger on the Jovelle Express 3 managed to contact a coast guard station for help when the vessel was damaged after slamming into an unspecified object
Mali, Burkina say restricting entry for US nationals in reciprocal move
ABIDJAN: Mali and Burkina Faso have announced travel restrictions on American nationals in a tit-for-tat move after the US included both African countries on a no-entry list.
In statements issued separately by both countries’ foreign ministries and seen Wednesday by AFP, they said they were imposing “equivalent measures” on US citizens, after President Donald Trump expanded a travel ban to nearly 40 countries this month, based solely on nationality.
That list included Syrian citizens, as well as Palestinian Authority passport holders, and nationals of some of Africa’s poorest countries including also Niger, Sierra Leone and South Sudan.
The White House said it was banning foreigners who “intend to threaten” Americans.
Burkina Faso’s foreign ministry said in the statement that it was applying “equivalent visa measures” on Americans, while Mali said it was, “with immediate effect,” applying “the same conditions and requirements on American nationals that the American authorities have imposed on Malian citizens entering the United States.”
It voiced its “regret” that the United States had made “such an important decision without the slightest prior consultation.”
The two sub-Saharan countries, both run by military juntas, are members of a confederation that also includes Niger.
Niger has not officially announced any counter-measures to the US travel ban, but the country’s news agency, citing a diplomatic source, said last week that such measures had been decided.
In his December 17 announcement, Trump also imposed partial travel restrictions on citizens of other African countries including the most populous, Nigeria, as well as Ivory Coast and Senegal, which qualified for the football World Cup to be played next year in the United States as well as Canada and Mexico.
In statements issued separately by both countries’ foreign ministries and seen Wednesday by AFP, they said they were imposing “equivalent measures” on US citizens, after President Donald Trump expanded a travel ban to nearly 40 countries this month, based solely on nationality.
That list included Syrian citizens, as well as Palestinian Authority passport holders, and nationals of some of Africa’s poorest countries including also Niger, Sierra Leone and South Sudan.
The White House said it was banning foreigners who “intend to threaten” Americans.
Burkina Faso’s foreign ministry said in the statement that it was applying “equivalent visa measures” on Americans, while Mali said it was, “with immediate effect,” applying “the same conditions and requirements on American nationals that the American authorities have imposed on Malian citizens entering the United States.”
It voiced its “regret” that the United States had made “such an important decision without the slightest prior consultation.”
The two sub-Saharan countries, both run by military juntas, are members of a confederation that also includes Niger.
Niger has not officially announced any counter-measures to the US travel ban, but the country’s news agency, citing a diplomatic source, said last week that such measures had been decided.
In his December 17 announcement, Trump also imposed partial travel restrictions on citizens of other African countries including the most populous, Nigeria, as well as Ivory Coast and Senegal, which qualified for the football World Cup to be played next year in the United States as well as Canada and Mexico.
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