Divers search first-class cabins on Philippine ferry
(Recasts with more details)
By Romeo Ranoco
SIBUYAN ISLAND, Philippines, June 25 (Reuters) - Divers scouted for bodies in first-class cabins on a capsized ferry in the Philippines on Wednesday looking for more than 700 people still missing in the disaster.
Hundreds of passengers were feared trapped inside the Princess of the Stars when it ran aground and flipped over in waves as big as houses off the central island of Sibuyan during a typhoon on Saturday.
Entering the seven-storey vessel is precarious. Its stern is wedged on a rocky ledge and strong waves could cause it to slide down, a navy official said.
Five bloated corpses, including one believed to be a crew member still clutching his radio, were retrieved on Tuesday.
"We are still checking on those in the first-class cabin. They are still prioritising that, then they will swim deeper to check on other spaces," Lieutenant Commander Armand Balilo, coast guard spokesman, said.
Divers from a U.S. military ship, the USNS Stockham, joined the operation.
Above water, decomposing corpses keep washing up in surrounding areas, forcing islanders to quickly bury them.
A male foreigner appeared to be among the bodies recovered but officials said it was not possible yet to identify his nationality.
The coast guard was checking reports of at least 20 corpses, all wearing life vests, bobbing in the waves.
So far, 48 people have been found alive out of 865 passengers and crew on board and 70 bodies have been counted, the coast guard said.
The tragedy could be the Philippines' worst maritime disaster since 1987 when the Dona Paz ferry collided with an oil tanker, killing more than 4,000 people.
Sulpicio Lines, which owns the Princess of the Stars, also owned the Dona Paz.
SHIPPING TRAGEDIES
The United States, the Philippines' former colonial master, has pledged to send an aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, to aid in the relief effort following Typhoon Fengshen, which devastated islands in the centre of the archipelago.
Fengshen, which has weakened to a tropical storm over southern China, killed at least 288 people in south and central Philippines, disaster officials said.
The sixth typhoon to hit the archipelago caused nearly 1 billion pesos ($22.4 million) worth of damage to homes, bridges and roads and forced more than 430,000 people to evacuate their homes.
Nearly 300,000 people are staying with friends and relatives and the rest are packed into churchs, town halls and schools.
In the central city of Cebu, relatives were waiting for the first ship to arrive from Sibuyan island bringing the bodies of their loved ones. Doctors and dentists were due to arrive from Manila to help with the identification.
Shipping tragedies are common in the Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands where safety rules are poorly implemented and substandard vessels ply dangerous waters.
Eight fishing boats and a coal barge also sank in the typhoon.
An inquiry has already started into the Princess of the Stars tragedy. Sulpicio Lines said the coast guard had given it permission to sail and the captain tried to seek shelter when he released Typhoon Fengshen had changed direction.
One survivor, who drifted for nearly 24 hours on a rubber dingy, said focusing on his relatives kept him alive.
"I just kept on thinking my family needs me. They are relying on me for our daily survival. I don't want them to just discover the following day that I am already a cold corpse." (Writing by Carmel Crimmins; Additional reporting by Manny Mogato in Cebu and Rosemarie Francisco and Karen Lema in Manila; Editing by David Fogarty)
By Romeo Ranoco
SIBUYAN ISLAND, Philippines, June 25 (Reuters) - Divers scouted for bodies in first-class cabins on a capsized ferry in the Philippines on Wednesday looking for more than 700 people still missing in the disaster.
Hundreds of passengers were feared trapped inside the Princess of the Stars when it ran aground and flipped over in waves as big as houses off the central island of Sibuyan during a typhoon on Saturday.
Entering the seven-storey vessel is precarious. Its stern is wedged on a rocky ledge and strong waves could cause it to slide down, a navy official said.
Five bloated corpses, including one believed to be a crew member still clutching his radio, were retrieved on Tuesday.
"We are still checking on those in the first-class cabin. They are still prioritising that, then they will swim deeper to check on other spaces," Lieutenant Commander Armand Balilo, coast guard spokesman, said.
Divers from a U.S. military ship, the USNS Stockham, joined the operation.
Above water, decomposing corpses keep washing up in surrounding areas, forcing islanders to quickly bury them.
A male foreigner appeared to be among the bodies recovered but officials said it was not possible yet to identify his nationality.
The coast guard was checking reports of at least 20 corpses, all wearing life vests, bobbing in the waves.
So far, 48 people have been found alive out of 865 passengers and crew on board and 70 bodies have been counted, the coast guard said.
The tragedy could be the Philippines' worst maritime disaster since 1987 when the Dona Paz ferry collided with an oil tanker, killing more than 4,000 people.
Sulpicio Lines, which owns the Princess of the Stars, also owned the Dona Paz.
SHIPPING TRAGEDIES
The United States, the Philippines' former colonial master, has pledged to send an aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, to aid in the relief effort following Typhoon Fengshen, which devastated islands in the centre of the archipelago.
Fengshen, which has weakened to a tropical storm over southern China, killed at least 288 people in south and central Philippines, disaster officials said.
The sixth typhoon to hit the archipelago caused nearly 1 billion pesos ($22.4 million) worth of damage to homes, bridges and roads and forced more than 430,000 people to evacuate their homes.
Nearly 300,000 people are staying with friends and relatives and the rest are packed into churchs, town halls and schools.
In the central city of Cebu, relatives were waiting for the first ship to arrive from Sibuyan island bringing the bodies of their loved ones. Doctors and dentists were due to arrive from Manila to help with the identification.
Shipping tragedies are common in the Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands where safety rules are poorly implemented and substandard vessels ply dangerous waters.
Eight fishing boats and a coal barge also sank in the typhoon.
An inquiry has already started into the Princess of the Stars tragedy. Sulpicio Lines said the coast guard had given it permission to sail and the captain tried to seek shelter when he released Typhoon Fengshen had changed direction.
One survivor, who drifted for nearly 24 hours on a rubber dingy, said focusing on his relatives kept him alive.
"I just kept on thinking my family needs me. They are relying on me for our daily survival. I don't want them to just discover the following day that I am already a cold corpse." (Writing by Carmel Crimmins; Additional reporting by Manny Mogato in Cebu and Rosemarie Francisco and Karen Lema in Manila; Editing by David Fogarty)
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