At least 12 people, including three children and a Japanese tourist, drowned when a boat bound for a resort island overturned and sank in rough waters off Batangays province on Saturday, police and the coast guard said. Another 52 people were rescued and eight were still missing, coast guard officials said. Local fishermen rushed to the area to rescue those in the water after distress calls were sent by the boat captain, regional police chief superintendent Luisito Palmera said. Among the dead was a 40-year-old Japanese tourist, Palmera said. His two companions were among the survivors. A Filipino woman traveling with them said by telephone from Puerto Galera that it was a sunny day but that big waves flipped the boat over, breaking its outrigger. “It happened so fast. I could not even remember how I got out,” she said. The boat left Batangas City port for Puerto Galera on Mindoro island.
