At least 40, including 11 kids, die as ferry capsizes in RP
11/04/2008 | 08:17 PM
(Update) MANILA, Philippines - An inter-island ferry packed with commuters overturned Tuesday while being buffeted by sudden monsoon winds and waves southeast of Manila, killing at least 40 people, officials said.
Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Sodusta, the regional army commander, said 76 people were rescued and taken to two hospitals for treatment after the M/L Don Dexter Cathlyn was battered shortly after leaving port in central Masbate island for nearby Sorsogon province.
Masbate provincial police chief, Sr Supt Reuben Sindac, said that 40 bodies have been recovered, including 11 children.
Four of them were aged 1 to 4 years old.
The recovered bodies include four men and 25 women.
At least 13 are believed missing but Sindac said that there may be more as they received reports that some were on board the boat but their names were not on the manifest.
The ship's manifest listed 119 passengers and a crew of six on board, though ferries frequently carry more people than are officially listed.
"We brought the dead to the plaza," said police senior inspector Arturo Estopare, police chief of Dimasalang town, about three miles (five kilometers) from the accident site.
The bodies were lined up and covered, with wailing people checking them for missing loved ones.
Sindac told Manila radio station DZBB that the ferry had been sailing in relatively clear weather.
Police officer Roy Almine, who helped in the rescue, said huge waves and strong monsoon winds suddenly hit the boat, causing it to overturn and tossing passengers into the sea.
"There was some kind of whirlwind," Sindac said. "There was no rain, no typhoon; the waters were calm when it happened.
"The ferry was not passenger-friendly. There were high railings and tarpaulin on the side so when the vessel overturned, these may have helped to trap the passengers."
Such accidents frequently happen in the Philippine archipelago due to tropical weather, badly maintained passenger boats and weak enforcement of safety regulations.
The typhoon-prone country was the scene of the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster when the ferry Dona Paz sank in 1987, killing more than 4,341 people.
In June, the 23,800-ton Princess of the Stars went belly up during a typhoon close to Romblon province, near Masbate, killing more than 800 people on board.
The discovery of several drums of toxic chemicals held up the retrieval of bodies inside the ship until last week. The chemicals have been removed by marine experts.- Aie Balagtas See, AP
Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Sodusta, the regional army commander, said 76 people were rescued and taken to two hospitals for treatment after the M/L Don Dexter Cathlyn was battered shortly after leaving port in central Masbate island for nearby Sorsogon province.
Masbate provincial police chief, Sr Supt Reuben Sindac, said that 40 bodies have been recovered, including 11 children.
Four of them were aged 1 to 4 years old.
The recovered bodies include four men and 25 women.
At least 13 are believed missing but Sindac said that there may be more as they received reports that some were on board the boat but their names were not on the manifest.
The ship's manifest listed 119 passengers and a crew of six on board, though ferries frequently carry more people than are officially listed.
"We brought the dead to the plaza," said police senior inspector Arturo Estopare, police chief of Dimasalang town, about three miles (five kilometers) from the accident site.
The bodies were lined up and covered, with wailing people checking them for missing loved ones.
Sindac told Manila radio station DZBB that the ferry had been sailing in relatively clear weather.
Police officer Roy Almine, who helped in the rescue, said huge waves and strong monsoon winds suddenly hit the boat, causing it to overturn and tossing passengers into the sea.
"There was some kind of whirlwind," Sindac said. "There was no rain, no typhoon; the waters were calm when it happened.
"The ferry was not passenger-friendly. There were high railings and tarpaulin on the side so when the vessel overturned, these may have helped to trap the passengers."
Such accidents frequently happen in the Philippine archipelago due to tropical weather, badly maintained passenger boats and weak enforcement of safety regulations.
The typhoon-prone country was the scene of the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster when the ferry Dona Paz sank in 1987, killing more than 4,341 people.
In June, the 23,800-ton Princess of the Stars went belly up during a typhoon close to Romblon province, near Masbate, killing more than 800 people on board.
The discovery of several drums of toxic chemicals held up the retrieval of bodies inside the ship until last week. The chemicals have been removed by marine experts.- Aie Balagtas See, AP
