Jun

23

Philippine Typhoon’s Toll Rises After Ferry Sinks

Filed Under Natural Disasters | Posted By Jennifer Sullivan |

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More than 700 people were missing on Sunday after a Philippine passenger ship capsized in a typhoon that has killed scores and left a trail of destruction across the archipelago.

Only four people are so far known to have survived the ferry disaster and they said many passengers did not make it off the MV Princess of Stars in time.

The Red Cross said that at least 137 people had been killed in the typhoon, not including those confirmed dead after the sinking of the ferry, which had been carrying more than 700 passengers and crew members when it went down on Saturday.

“Many of us jumped, the waves were so huge, and the rains were heavy,” a survivor identified only as Jesse told local radio. “There was just one announcement over the megaphone, about 30 minutes before the ship tilted to its side.”

Officials said four passengers were rescued earlier in the day. Agence France-Presse later cited radio reports that 28 other survivors, including 9 crew members, had been rescued near Mulanay, a coastal village about 100 miles from where the ferry sank.

One survivor, Jesus Gica, told a radio station that he had seen passengers losing consciousness and children unable to wear their life vests. “Many of us jumped from the ship,” he said. “The waves were big.” He also said elderly people, unable to escape, had been trapped underneath the capsized ferry.

A coastguard vessel was trawling the waters around the 23,824 gross tonne ferry, which is upside down with only its bow above the waves, trying to confirm reports some passengers had made it to a small island.

“We are hoping more people will have reached the shoreline,” Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo, the head of the coastguard, told Reuters.

Weather Official said that winds at more than 90 miles per hour, caused more destruction in the northern Philippines but was headed out of the country on Sunday afternoon.

Princess of Stars ran aground on Saturday but the coastguard was unable to reach it because of huge swells and bad weather caused by Typhoon Fengshen, which crashed into the central Philippines on Friday.

At least two other coastguard vessels were en route to help in rescue efforts and Tamayo said he hoped divers would be able to scour the submerged ship on Monday.

An archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, the Philippines is hit by an average of 20 typhoons a year.



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