12 killed as motor ferry sinks off Verde Island

(Update) MANILA, Philippines - Twelve people, including 3 children and a Japanese tourist, were killed after a large motorized outrigger capsized near Mindoro Island on Saturday, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said. Chief Supt. Luisito Palmera, police chief for Region 4B (Mimaropa), said in a text message to reporters in Manila that the MB Commando 6 sank at about noon near Verde Island, 85 miles (135 kilometers) south of Manila. Palmera said the boat sank when one of its outriggers broke. The Coast Guard in Manila says there were 57 survivors, including five crew members. As of 3:59 pm, the last count of fatalities was 12, including two young boys and one young girl, seven adult women and adult men, said Palmera. He said one of the dead victims was a Japanese tourist. He said the victims were identified by rescuers as: 1. Franco P. Eugenio, 3 years old, White Plains, Quezon City; 2. Anton Cruz Eugenio, 2, White Plains, Quezon City; 3. Gregonia C. Pabliko, 58, Sta Cruz, Manila; 4. Albino Pablico, 55, Sta Cruz, Manila; 5. Beta Berdin, 2, Sta Mesa, Manila; 6. Melanie Berdin, 30, Sta Mesa, Manila; 7. Desiree Teodoro, 20, Taytay, Rizal; 8. Joena Perez, 25, Batangas; 9. Yaya Tess, age unknown; 10. Mina Ricci Cads, Binangonan, Rizal; 11. Daisy Eugenio, Quezon City; and 12. Hosotani Shoji, a Japanese tourist. Palmera said the boat left Batangas City pier for the tourist resort town of Puerto Galera in Mindoro Oriental before the accident. Not long after the boat left, it sent out a distress call. Responding rescuers took some of the injured to nearby hospitals but one child was declared dead on arrival by an attending physician, Dr. Rosse Villaruel, at the Puerto Galera Muncipal Health Center. Five passengers are presently undergoing medical treatment at the same center, Palmera said. Commodore Cecil Chen, Coast Guard commander for Southern Luzon, cited sketchy initial reports saying the ferry sank despite good weather. "Maganda naman ang panahon. Bago siya nakarating may problema siguro kaya lumubog (The weather was fine. But before it could reach its destination it sank)," CHen told dzBB radio. He said they are still determining the cause of the sinking. - With Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV