Manila, May 1 The Philippine authorities are looking for four divers on Monday who remain missing after the boat in which they were traveling sank this weekend near the Tubbataha reef, in the southwest of the archipelago.
Another 28 people were rescued after the shipwreck, which happened early Sunday morning, the Philippine coast guard confirmed to EFE.
“There is a coast guard ship and 10 other private boats searching,” said coast guard spokesman Armand Balillo.
The “Dream Keeper” boat left Cebu island bound for the reef on Saturday with at least 32 passengers, and issued an emergency signal at 6:30 a.m. local time on Sunday.
The owner of the boat, a diving teacher and two students, all Filipino nationals, are still missing.
The tourist ship, which was transporting divers to the aforementioned reef, located between the islands of Palawan and Mindanao, sank for reasons still unknown, after bad weather hit the area, Balillo explained.
The Tubbataha reef is one of the most important marine protected areas in the country and was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 1993. EFE
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