Wednesday, June 25, 2008 (Philippines)

DIVERS from Coast Guard and Air Force (top) hold a body bag containing a recovered victim; U.S. Navy divers (above) board a Black Hawk at Romblon Airport to join the search and rescue; Coast Guard personnel (right) prepare an oil spill boom for the sunken ship. (Top and right photos/Afp photos; Above: Ap photo) SAN FERNANDO Inocencio Rosario was surrounded by bodies and debris in the dark yesterday when his flashlight found a small bit of comfort in the capsized ferry: a plastic rosary floating in the water. The Coast Guard diver slipped on the string of light blue beads for luck, hoping it was an omen that a miracle was still possible. Divers wriggled into the upside-down ferry yesterday but found only bodies three days after typhoon Frank shoved the seven-story vessel over. So far, 70 bodies have been recovered, according to the Coast Guard. [full story]