Philippines ferry crash: Search for survivors
Many people are still looking for relatives who were onboard the ferry'
Search teams have resumed efforts to find dozens of people still missing after a ferry and a cargo ship collided in the Philippines.
At least 34 people died when the MV Thomas Aquinas sank off the central port of Cebu on Friday with more than 800 people onboard, officials said.
Poor weather has disrupted attempts to send down divers into the wreckage.
A navy spokesman said it was possible survivors could be found inside air pockets, although chances were slim.
The number of people officially listed as missing was reduced on Sunday to 85 from 170 due to tallying issues, Agence France-Presse news agency reported.
More than 600 people have been rescued since the collision, which happened in calm waters around 2km (1.2 miles) from the shore.
Coastguard and military vessels helped with the search operation, but it has been hampered by rough seas.
Navy spokesman Lt Cdr Gregory Fabic told AFP the weather had prevented divers from reaching the interior of the sunken vessel, where many of those missing were believed trapped.
"It is possible that there are air pockets in its compartments and there might be survivors," he said.
"There is still hope that there might just be survivors there."
Suspended
Survivors said hundreds of passengers jumped into the ocean as the ferry began taking on water and listing on Friday evening. The crew distributed life jackets.
Many were asleep when the crash happened and others struggled to find their way in the dark, reports said.
One survivor, Jerwin Agudong, said he and other passengers jumped overboard in front of the cargo vessel.
"It seems some people were not able to get out," Mr Agudong told radio station DZBB. "I pity the children. We saw dead bodies on the side, and some being rescued."
It is believed 58 babies were among the passengers on board but it is unclear how many of them died.
Many of the survivors were sick from swallowing seawater and oil that is thought to have spilled from the ferry.
Continue reading the main story
Life rafts floated alongside the cargo ship after the ferry sank
A coast guard official told reporters that the cargo ship, Sulpicio Express 7, had 36 crew members on board, but it did not sink.
It emerged on Saturday that Span Asia Carrier Corp, the company that owns the cargo ship, also owned the ferry involved in the world's worst maritime disaster in peacetime, which occurred in the Philippines in December 1987.
More than 4,000 people died when the Dona Paz ferry collided with a tanker.
Maritime accidents are quite frequent in the Philippine archipelago because of tropical storms, badly maintained passenger boats and weakly enforced safety regulations.
Passengers on the ferry involved in Friday's collision had embarked at Nasipit in the southern province of Agusan del Sur.
The 11,000 tonne ferry was 40 years old, and operated by a Chinese-owned company called 2Go, reports the BBC's South East Asia Correspondent Jonathan Head.
The company became the largest ferry operator in the Philippines three years ago, following a merger of several smaller firms, our correspondent adds.
No comments:
Post a Comment