16 rescued as boat capsizes off Albay

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines — Fourteen health workers were among 16 people rescued from a boat that capsized in the waters off Albay on Saturday.

The health workers, including 13 nurses and a midwife, were part of the nurse deployment program of the Department of Health-Bicol.

The two other survivors were a boatman and a crewmember, according to Gremil Naz, spokesman for the Office of Civil Defense-Bicol.

The health workers, who were deployed on Rapu-Rapu Island, were sailing back to Legazpi City when strong winds and big waves battered the boat, causing it to capsize.

State weathermen had warned of ‘very rough seas’ due to the combined effects of the prevailing surge of the northeast monsoon and Tropical Depression Vicky.

Moderate to heavy rains, at times turning torrential, have flooded low-lying areas in Bicol since Saturday.