Philippine ferry death toll likely to hit 14
Saturday, July 14, 2007
THE bodies of three people, including a child, washed ashore in the Philippines yesterday, and divers saw many corpses still trapped inside a capsized ferry, army officials said.
The death toll from a capsized Philippine passenger ferry was expected to climb above 14.
At least 11 people are known to have died when the Blue Water Princess sank on Thursday, off San Francisco town in central Quezon province, about 150km south of Manila, as it was making for safety in bad weather.
They had earlier said 15 people were killed.
No one is sure how many passengers were on board but scores are believed to be missing. At least 129 people were rescued.
Lieutenant-Colonel Rhoderick Parayno said divers sent by the army, police and coastguard had seen many bodies in the submerged vessel.
"They can't start recovery due to strong waves," Parayno told reporters in mobile phone text messages. "We're sending more diving equipment to the area. We don't have rubber boats for use of the divers."
Navy ships were en route to the area but having difficulty due to the choppy sea and strong winds.
Separately, two fishermen were missing after their boat sank off the western island of Palawan yesterday when a weight fell and tilted the vessel. The remaining crew of 22 were rescued.
Strong waves and stormy weather hampered efforts by rescuers to enter a sunken ferry in the eastern Philippines, where more bodies were feared trapped, coast guard and military officials said. Parayno said, divers saw more dead bodies inside the MV Blue Water Princess.
Parayno said more divers will be dispatched to the area as soon as the weather calms down.
San Francisco town Mayor Hermani Tan said three more fatalities from the sunken ferry were retrieved early yesterday near the seashore. A total of 11 fatalities were recovered,while four others were recovered in nearby San Andres town.
Parayno said that based on the accounts of the captain of the ill-fated ship, who survived, 256 people were on board during the accident, 129 of whom have been safely rescued.
The 400-tonne passenger-cargo ship, which was also carrying 14 vehicles, was sailing toward shelter from bad weather when it ran aground and tilted before it sank.
Huge waves and strong winds had battered the vessel, which left Lucena City in Quezon province on Wednesday afternoon en route to the island-province of Masbate.
Coast Guard spokesman Armand Balilo said officials were hoping that most of the 115 people still unaccounted for were safe, but feared some of them were trapped inside the ship.
"We fear that there are still many people underneath," he told a local radio station. "(Coast Guard) Admiral Damian Carlos ordered divers to go into the vessel. That's going to be the focus of our operations."
Balilo said an inquiry will be conducted to determine the cause of the accident and the culpability of the shipping line.
There was still uncertainty about the number of passengers on board the ferry, but scores were feared missing after the military said more than 250 people were on the ship.Ferries of all descriptions ply the waters between the Philippines' 7,000-plus islands and safety standards are often lax. Overcrowding is common and so are accidents.
In December 1987, a ferry sank after colliding with a tanker in the Sibuyan Sea in the central Philippines, killing about 4,400 people.
Reuters, DPA
The death toll from a capsized Philippine passenger ferry was expected to climb above 14.
At least 11 people are known to have died when the Blue Water Princess sank on Thursday, off San Francisco town in central Quezon province, about 150km south of Manila, as it was making for safety in bad weather.
They had earlier said 15 people were killed.
No one is sure how many passengers were on board but scores are believed to be missing. At least 129 people were rescued.
Lieutenant-Colonel Rhoderick Parayno said divers sent by the army, police and coastguard had seen many bodies in the submerged vessel.
"They can't start recovery due to strong waves," Parayno told reporters in mobile phone text messages. "We're sending more diving equipment to the area. We don't have rubber boats for use of the divers."
Navy ships were en route to the area but having difficulty due to the choppy sea and strong winds.
Separately, two fishermen were missing after their boat sank off the western island of Palawan yesterday when a weight fell and tilted the vessel. The remaining crew of 22 were rescued.
Strong waves and stormy weather hampered efforts by rescuers to enter a sunken ferry in the eastern Philippines, where more bodies were feared trapped, coast guard and military officials said. Parayno said, divers saw more dead bodies inside the MV Blue Water Princess.
Parayno said more divers will be dispatched to the area as soon as the weather calms down.
San Francisco town Mayor Hermani Tan said three more fatalities from the sunken ferry were retrieved early yesterday near the seashore. A total of 11 fatalities were recovered,while four others were recovered in nearby San Andres town.
Parayno said that based on the accounts of the captain of the ill-fated ship, who survived, 256 people were on board during the accident, 129 of whom have been safely rescued.
The 400-tonne passenger-cargo ship, which was also carrying 14 vehicles, was sailing toward shelter from bad weather when it ran aground and tilted before it sank.
Huge waves and strong winds had battered the vessel, which left Lucena City in Quezon province on Wednesday afternoon en route to the island-province of Masbate.
Coast Guard spokesman Armand Balilo said officials were hoping that most of the 115 people still unaccounted for were safe, but feared some of them were trapped inside the ship.
"We fear that there are still many people underneath," he told a local radio station. "(Coast Guard) Admiral Damian Carlos ordered divers to go into the vessel. That's going to be the focus of our operations."
Balilo said an inquiry will be conducted to determine the cause of the accident and the culpability of the shipping line.
There was still uncertainty about the number of passengers on board the ferry, but scores were feared missing after the military said more than 250 people were on the ship.Ferries of all descriptions ply the waters between the Philippines' 7,000-plus islands and safety standards are often lax. Overcrowding is common and so are accidents.
In December 1987, a ferry sank after colliding with a tanker in the Sibuyan Sea in the central Philippines, killing about 4,400 people.
Reuters, DPA
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