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Monday, March 01, 2004
Coast Guard to probe Superferry fire; 65 Negros residents remain missing
By Erwin Ambo S. Delilan and Christine Mae A. Pelayo
A TOTAL of 140 passengers of the ill-fated Superferry 14 of WG&A were still unaccounted for as of presstime Sunday night.
Gina Virtusio, WG&A PR and Corporate Communications manager, disclosed of the 140 still missing passengers, 65 are listed as bound for Bacolod City and 59 for Cagayan de Oro City, while the rest are for Iloilo.
Virtusio also said the latest tally of rescued passengers has reached to 604 while 153 for crewmembers.
She also clarified that there was only one male fatality in the sea tragedy. As to the identification, Virtusio said the cadaver is still unidentified.
"We are still on the process of identifying him, since our very focus at this moment is the rescue and retrieval operations for the missing ones," she said Sunday night.
Virtusio, however, refused to release the names of those who are still in the missing list either bound for Bacolod or Cagayan de Oro so as not to cause panic among the relatives.
She assured though that relatives of the missing passengers from Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro City were already given free trip and accommodation in going to Manila.
Some were there in Manila Sunday, said Virtusio.
Virtusio also assured the families and relatives of the victims that rescue operation teams were dispersed strategically and that they have penetrated most of the areas of the ship.
But Virtusio said the trail is still dark, still heavily clouded with smoke and full of debris.
The Philippine Coast Guard operations are ongoing, she said.
"As want as we want to give out reports on the specific investigation of the ship, our priorities are focused on the rescue for survivors, if any; and retrieve and search for bodies," she further explained.
Virtusio said, "as of the moment, we have to be a little bit patient, because of the difficult conditions inside the vessel."
She said she knows that everybody especially the relatives of the missing passengers are now very anxious to know what happened to their loved ones.
"But please try to understand that the ship is not in its normal position -- it is tilted, making it very difficult for our rescuers to penetrate certain areas of the vessel as debris and other fragments have blocked the pathway," Virtusio said in a corporate official statement.
Meanwhile, Virtusio said the big number of rescued passengers were students of John B. Lacson Colleges Foundation in Iloilo City and followed by a delegation coming from the Department of Education in Cagayan de Oro City.
They were all sent back to their home places taking commercial flights, she added.
While those who were rescued but injured are still in hospitals in Manila and all are in good condition, Virtusio also said.
National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, one the other hand, said Sunday that they are still verifying a claim by the Abu Sayyaf in Mindanao that they are responsible behind the explosion that caused fire inside of the "Festival Ship" of the WG&A while cruising the El Fraile off Corregidor Island around 1 p.m. Friday last week.
Virtusio, however, said the report is considered "weird" but still the veracity of it shall be confirmed and verified thoroughly.
In Malacañang, Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said he is still checking with the Armed Forces the veracity of the report.
A certain Abu Sulayman claiming to be the spokesman of the Abu Sayyaf said they were behind the Superferry incident, which they had carefully planned for a time.
Sulayman, in a report by Radio Mindanao Network, said they carried out the attack because they want to send a message to the public and the government.
Such report, however, become questionable since it has no voice clip of anybody interviewed in said radio network.
Reports also said Malacañang officials called the station asking them not to air the interview.
But Press Secretary Milton Alingod denied that the Palace made such a request.
PCG, meanwhile, will form the Board of Marine Inquiry after its search and rescue operations to the passenger-victims of the latest sea inferno.
PCG Bacolod Port Commander Leopoldo Laroya said the board will be composed of representatives of the PCG, Marina, the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), the private sector, private naval architect and maritime lawyers.
Laroya added the Board would be tasked to immediately investigate the cause of accident after the cease of search and rescue operation.
He added that the board will come up with a recommendation for the DOTC to look into possible criminal liability against the owner of the Superferry or the incident is merely an accident. EASD/CMHP/Sunnex
(March 1, 2004 issue)
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