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John Unson - Philstar.com
January 20, 2026 | 6:29pm
All of the 12 individuals together in the M/L Sitti Nur that sank on Monday, are now in Bongao, capital town of Tawi-Tawi province in the Bangsamoro region.
Philstar.com / John Unson
COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Emergency responders promptly rescued 12 passengers and crewmen on an old wooden boat overturned by big waves while sailing at the sea border of Simunul and Bongao towns in Tawi-Tawi on Monday, January 19.
Local executives and police officials in Tawi-Tawi province told reporters on Tuesday that the seacraft, which sank, M/L Sitti Nur, was so old that and did not have life jackets and other life-saving provisions passengers could rely on when necessary.
Officials of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and employees of the Tawi-Tawi Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office separately told reporters on Tuesday that the rescued passengers and boatmen were immediately brought to the Datu Halun Sakilan Memorial Hospital in Bongao for procedural medical examination.
Local executives and municipal police officials in Bongao and in Simunul told reporters that it was fortunate that all of the 12 individuals in the ill-fated boat knew how to swim and managed to get to the hull flooring of the boat, then floating upside down.
The M/L Sitti Nur was from the Manuk Mangkaw Seaport in Simunul and was to proceed to the Bongao pier when it was battered by big waves.
The strong waves caused the M/L Sitti Nur to turn upside down, according to local executives and employees of the Tawi-Tawi provincial government who responded to the incident.
