Dozens dead after passenger boat capsizes in Philippines
(Update 1: Changes headline, reledes, adds detail throughout)
Manila, Jul 27 (EFE).- At least 30 people died after a passenger boat capsized in a lake in Rizal province, some 16 kilometers east of Manila, authorities reported on Thursday.
According to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) around 40 passengers were rescued while 30 died after a passenger boat capsized in Laguna Lake, off Binangonan, amid strong winds brought by Typhoon Doksuri.
The incident occurred at around 1 PM when the vessel was battered by strong winds that caused passengers to panic and group to its port side, causing it to capsize, according to the Philippine News Agency.
Search and rescue operations are ongoing in the area, PNA added.
Earlier on Thursday the country’s National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction reported that five people had died due to the impact of the powerful typhoon battering the Philippines.
The typhoon – named Egay in the Philippines – hit the north of the island of Luzon, where the capital Manila is located, with violent winds and heavy rains that triggered flooding and landslides.
Two other people were injured by incidents related to the tropical cyclone, which affected more than 330,000 people in the north of the country, of which at least 30,000 continue to be evacuated from their homes, the institute reported.
The country’s weather service said Doksuri – which on Thursday was near southern Taiwan – was predicted to leave Philippine territory in a few hours and continue toward China.
Beijing was on red alert Wednesday, the highest of its four-color system, in anticipation of Doksuri, the fifth super typhoon to have formed so far this year in Asia.
The China Meteorological Center, which made the announcement at 10:00 a.m. local time (0200 GMT), said Doksuri is expected to hit Friday morning the coastal areas of the southern provinces of Fujian and Guangdong. EFE
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