At 3 p.m. on Friday, the cargo vessel LCT Balesin capsized at Ungos Port in Real, Quezon. The cargo vessel is slanted in the footage posted by KBYN, and three dump trucks and a van transporting it are submerged in water. There were no reported injuries.

More than ten passengers drowned after leaping into the ocean. The ship had not even left port towards Polillo when it suffered a mechanical failure. Before they could aboard, passenger Edwin Amintado discovered that the ship was tilting.

“Tumagilid po ang barko,” Amintado recalled, “siguro po dahil sa sakay nito na hindi naka-level. Yun kami ay tumalon na.”

Alberto Estibisa who works on Balesin Island, is one of the survivors. His ten colleagues were likewise safe since they all leaped before the ship capsized.

Estibisa explained, “Yung dala kong mga damit pangtrabaho at gamit pang-construction nawala.”

According to the preliminary investigation conducted by the Real PNP, the workers of the abovementioned cargo vessel were reportedly placing the cargo of its four trucks when the ship’s left side abruptly tilted. The Philippine Coast Guard-Northern Quezon is interviewing witnesses as part of its ongoing investigation into the incident.