Eight Dead After Motor Banca Capsizes on Zambales Lake, One Still Missing

A motor banca carrying thirteen people capsized on Mapanuepe Lake in San Marcelino, Zambales, on August 27. All of the passengers were Aeta community members, three of them children. The boat overturned in rough weather.

Six were confirmed dead by the time rescuers reached the scene. Three remained missing. Recovery teams searched the lake over the following two days.

By August 29, two more bodies had been pulled from the water. The death toll reached eight, with one person still missing as of August 30.

Six days before the Mapanuepe capsize, a tugboat sank off Zambales during a salvage operation, with 15,000 litres of diesel aboard, a separate accident in waters off Botolan.