Update: 800 missing as Philippines ferry sinks

UPDATE:
Manila (dpa) - Twenty-eight passengers and crew members of a ferry that sank in stormy seas in the central Philippines were found alive as rescuers on Monday continued to search for more than 800 missing people, a police official said.

Senior Superintendent Fidel Posadas said the 28 survivors reached the shores of Mulanay town in Quezon province, 150 kilometres south-east of Manila, aboard an inflatable life raft from the capsized MV Princess of the Stars.

Posadas said local authorities were coordinating with Sulpicio Lines, owner of the ill-fated ferry, to turn over the survivors.

The recovery brought to 32 the number of survivors from the ferry sinking, with six confirmed killed and more than 800 still missing, according to the Coast Guard and Sulpicio Lines.

Coast guard and navy rescuers scoured islets and coastal towns near Sibuyan Island, 300 kilometres south of Manila, where the Princess of the Stars sank on Saturday, in hopes of finding more survivors. Additional rescue ships were also dispatched by the coast guard and the navy on Monday.

"Our teams are ready to scour the area to find if there are more survivors," said Lieutenant Armand Balilo, coast guard spokesman. "There are even divers and equipment to go under the ship if the weather permits."

The life raft that reached Mulanay initially carried 30 people, but two fell overboard during the rough journey, Posadas said.

Susan Lesbo, one of the survivors, told local television that they were able to successfully manoeuvre their life raft to shore because some of their companions were seamen.

"We were successful because the seamen knew how to manoeuvre the raft," she said.

Jonathan Rendo, another survivor, added that they all helped each other through the harrowing ordeal.

"We knew that we had to be strong together because if not, we will all die," he said, holding back tears.

On Sunday, four survivors were found in San Fernando town on Sibuyuan Island.

The 24,000-tonne Princess of the Stars sank after running aground due to huge waves and strong winds spawned by Typhoon Fengshen, which left at least 156 people dead.

Attorney Manuel Espina, a spokesman for Sulpicio Lines, said 724 passengers and 121 crew members were aboard the Princess of the Stars when it sank.

The Philippine Coast Guard has reported only 626 passengers aboard the vessel.

Sea travel is a major mode of transportation in the Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands.

The Philippines was the site of the world's worst peacetime shipping disaster in 1987, when more than 4,000 people perished in a collision between the ferry Dona Paz and an oil tanker off the central island of Mindoro just before Christmas.

Earlier report:

Manila (dpa) - Twenty-eight survivors have been recovered from a passenger ferry with 800 passengers aboard that sank in the central Philippines, a police official said Monday.

Senior Superintendent Fidel Posadas said the 28 people from the sinking of MV Princess of the Stars were recovered in Mulanay town in Quezon province, 150 kilometres south-east of Manila.

Posadas said that local authorities were coordinating with Sulpicio Lines, owner of the ill-fated ferry, to turn over the survivors.

The recovery brought to 32 the number of survivors recovered from the sinking of the Princess of the Stars Saturday off the coast of Sibuyan Island in the central Philippines.

On Sunday, four survivors were found in San Fernando town on Sibuyuan island.

The 24,000-tonne ferry sank after running aground due to huge waves and strong winds spawned by Typhoon Fengshen, which left at least 152 people dead.

The death toll included 10 fatalities from the ferry sinking, according to the Philippine National Red Cross.

Attorney Manuel Espina, a spokesman for Sulpicio Lines, said that 724 passengers and 121 crew members were aboard the Princess of the Stars when it sank.

The Philippine Coast Guard has reported only 626 passengers aboard the vessel.

Rescuers were braving rough seas in search of more survivors and fatalities as Fengshen continued to unleash heavy rains and strong winds.

Earlier report:


Manila (dpa) - Rescuers battled rough seas in the central Philippines on Sunday to search for more than 800 people missing after a passenger ferry sank as a powerful typhoon pummelled the country, officials said.

A coast guard rescue ship reached the waters off Sibuyan Island, 300 kilometres south of Manila, where the MV Princess of the Stars sank after running aground on Saturday amid heavy rains and huge waves spawned by Typhoon Fengshen.

"We still haven't found anything," coast guard spokesman Lieutenant Armand Balilo said. "We will continue with the search overnight."

But Sulpicio Lines, owner of the 24,000-tonne ferry, said bad weather was preventing rescuers from reaching nearby islands where survivors could have drifted.

"Sulpicio Lines has also dispatched one rescue vessel, but because of the bad weather, it has been difficult," said attorney Manuel Espina, a spokesman for the shipping company. "Even the coast guard ship had to anchor because of the huge waves."

Espina said the Princess of the Stars was carrying 724 passengers and 121 crew members on its way to nearby Cebu province from Manila when it was battered by rough seas.

The ferry left Manila Friday evening and was supposed to arrive in Cebu on Saturday afternoon.

Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross, said 10 bodies have been recovered from the shores of San Fernando town, bringing to 128 the death toll in the onslaught of Fengshen.

Only four survivors from the ferry sinking have been found, according to town Mayor Nanette Tansingco.

"We are seeking help from everyone who can assist in the search and rescue operations because we are still not seeing any more people in the area," she said.

Inspector Reynaldo Reyes, police chief of San Fernando town, said among the recovered bodies was that of an old woman tied to a foam mattress she had apparently used as a floater.

"There were few items found on the shores," he said. "We fear that more bodies are trapped inside the ferry."

Among the survivors was Renato Lamorias, a janitor in the ferry, who said the vessel was forced to slow down "because the winds and the rain were strong."

"We were eating lunch (on Saturday) when the boat suddenly tilted," he said. "We were told to put on our life vests and to abandon ship, and that's what we did."

"Many of us jumped into the sea, but many were also left behind," he added. "Those who were not able to jump are probably dead already inside the ship."

Lamorias said most of those who were unable to jump overboard were children and elderly passengers.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who left for a 10-day trip to the United States on Saturday, scolded coast guard chief Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo during a conference call for allowing the ferry to leave Manila despite a typhoon warning.

Sea travel is a major mode of transportation in the Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands.

The country was the site of the world's worst peacetime shipping disaster in 1987, when more than 4,000 people perished in a collision between the ferry Dona Paz and an oil tanker off the central island of Mindoro just before Christmas.

Jun 22, 2008