Salvage operations for 'Princess' to start Friday

MANILA, Philippines - More than two months after the incident, salvage operations of the capsized MV Princess of the Stars will finally start Friday. Radio dzBB reported early Tuesday that Titan Salvage and local counterpart Harbor Star have been asked to make sure chemicals aboard the capsized ship won’t spill into the water. Transportation undersecretary Elena Bautista, who heads a task force on the Princess of the Stars tragedy, said water sampling will continue at ground zero. Coast Guard commandant Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said the salvage workers' first priority is to get the endosulfan out of the capsized vessel first. Next on the priority list will be the retrieval of bodies of passengers trapped inside the ill-fated vessel, he said. The bodies will then be subjected to DNA tests. Tamayo said he will meet this week with Philippine technical divers to map out plans to recover the bodies. Sulpicio Lines, owner of the MV Princess of the Stars, contracted Titan Salvage and its local counterpart Harbor Star to conduct the salvage work. - GMANews.TV