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Philippines searches for ferry accident survivors, five dead
MANILA, Dec 22, 2017 (BSS/AFP) – Rescue teams in the Philippines resumed
their search for survivors Friday after a ferry carrying more than 250
passengers capsized, with at least five confirmed dead.
The accident occurred in rough waters off the main island of Luzon
Thursday as the Mercraft 3 keeled over en route to a remote island.
The 206-tonne vessel had been given the green light to sail as Tropical
Storm Tembin gathered pace over the southern Philippines nearly a thousand
kilometres away, as there were no storm alerts in the local area, the
coastguard said.
But a survivor told local radio that the ferry was forced to stop at sea
due to large waves and strong winds, before it started taking in water from
the bow and tipped over.
Filipino ferries, which seasonally brave rough seas in the Pacific typhoon
belt, are notorious for overloading.
Some 252 people have so far been pulled to safety, with the death toll up
to five.
The coastguard had earlier said only 251 passengers and crew were on board,
but confirmed the vessel had a 286-person capacity.
Officials gave no explanation for the discrepancy but acknowledged the boat
had carried more than the 251 people listed on its manifest.
Rescuers are yet to determine how many are still missing, Efren Ritual, a
rescue official in the town of Infanta, said.
“The search will continue because there are still people here looking for
their missing relatives,” he told AFP by telephone.
Local fishing boats and the Philippine navy were assisting in the search,
according to the coastguard office in Manila.
The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, is plagued by
poor sea transport, with its badly regulated boats and ships prone to
overcrowding and accidents.
The latest incident occurred 30 years after another Philippine ferry, the
Dona Paz, collided with an oil tanker in a pre-Christmas accident south of
Manila that claimed more than 4,000 lives in the world’s worst peacetime
disaster at sea.
BSS/AFP/RY/09:45 hrs