Reuters AlertNet Lite - Death toll to climb from capsized Philippine ferry

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Death toll to climb from capsized Philippine ferry

13 Jul 2007 03:56:48 GMT
Source: Reuters

MANILA, July 12 (Reuters) - The death toll from a capsized Philippine passenger ferry was expected to climb above 14 after divers saw many corpses still trapped inside the vessel, a military spokesman said on Friday.

Two more bodies washed ashore from the Blue Water Princess, which sank off San Francisco town in central Quezon province, about 150 km (93 miles) south of Manila, as it was making for safety in bad weather on Thursday.

Lieutenant-Colonel Rhoderick Parayno said divers sent by the army, police and coastguard had seen many bodies in the submerged ship.

"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."

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.

Parayno said 14 bodies had been recovered and 129 people rescued. Navy ships were en route to the area but were having difficulty due to giant waves and strong winds.

Separately, two fishermen were missing after their boat sank off the western island of Palawan on Friday when a weight fell and tilted the vessel. The remaining crew of 22 were rescued.

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.

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Last updated:Fri Jul 13 03:58:30 2007