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Thursday, June 26, 2008
Chances 'slim' for ferry victims
More than 800 still missing; 3 dead washed up on island
CEBU CITY -- Bodies in life jackets washed up on nearby islands and drifted at sea on Wednesday as more than 100 divers, including US servicemen, joined the grim work of searching the inside of a ferry that capsized during a powerful typhoon.
Hopes faded of finding more survivors inside the capsized mv Princess of the Stars.
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
"There is a slim chance that we can still find survivors (inside the ferry)," said Coast Guard Lieutenant Commodore Rogelio Villanueva. "As the days pass, indeed the chance is getting slimmer."
While the divers have only found bodies so far, some officials were unwilling to give up hope of finding more survivors among the more than 800 people missing since the seven-story ferry listed and went down Saturday.
"I am still hoping for a miracle. I am hoping for a miraculous air pocket somewhere in the ship," said Transportation Undersecretary Maria Elena Bautista, head of a government task force.
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Bautista said 95 Filipino and eight American divers were taking part in the search.
Late Wednesday night, GMANews.TV reported that 115 bodies have been spotted near Camarines Sur and Burias Island. The website quoted Bautista as saying that as of 9:30 p.m., search teams reported seeing 115 bodies in separate areas.
Bautista, however, is not sure whether the bodies came from mv Princess of the Stars.
Four US Navy rubber boats carrying the US divers went to the site Wednesday morning. Five ships, a P3 surveillance plane, two Navy HH-60 helicopters and a pilotless surveillance plane also were deployed by the US military to help search for bodies and possible survivors.
The disaster could raise Typhoon Frank's death toll to more than 1,300, with 329 people confirmed dead from flooding and landslides and more than 200 missing.
Only four dozen survivors have been found so far. Three more bodies wearing life vests believed to be from the ship washed up Wednesday on Burias Island, 90 kilometers away, while ships were dispatched to pick up groups of up to 55 bodies spotted by surveillance aircraft.
Coast guard spokesman Lieutenant Commodore Arman Balilo said they were getting "a lot of reports" of sightings, but were not including them in the official death toll "until we have control of the bodies."
Just the tip of the bow of the 23,824-ton Princess of the Stars ferry was jutting from the water. The storm's aftermath kept rescue workers away until calm, sunny conditions Tuesday allowed divers to slither inside for the first time.
Coast guard Lieutenant Commodore Inocencio Rosario said he dove to examine the rear end of the ship and found it resting and stable on the seabed 120 feet underwater.
Because of the difficult and dangerous operations inside the ferry, which went belly up in the rough seas, only three bodies were retrieved Wednesday.
Bautista said Sulpicio Lines, owner of the vessel, will siphon off the estimated 270,000 liters of the ferry's fuel oil.
A distraught man whose cousin and niece were among the missing climbed a tower at the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) compound in Manila, carrying a placard demanding that the ferry's owner take relatives to the ferry site or where the bodies were being taken, as other relatives have sought. He was persuaded to come down.
Relatives also have questioned why the ship was allowed to leave Manila late Friday for a 20-hour trip to Cebu with a typhoon approaching.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, on a trip to the US, ordered a thorough probe and said she hoped to find ways to avoid similar accidents in the future.
Sulpicio Lines said the ferry sailed with coast guard approval. Debate also began anew on safe-sailing rules in a country prone to storms -- Frank was the seventh typhoon this year -- and dependent on ferries to get around the sprawling archipelago. (AP/Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Iloilo. (June 26, 2008 issue)
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