Report: Panamanian vessel tilts, sinks off Samar

Barely 24 hours after a SuperFerry 9 passenger ship tilted and sank off Zamboanga Sunday, a Panamanian-registered vessel tilted and sank off Eastern Samar in Eastern Visayas early Monday. Radio dzBB's Carlo Mateo reported that the Philippine Coast Guard started search-and-rescue operations for the vessel since 2 a.m. Monday. The 6,835-gross ton ship had two Koreans and 18 Filipinos on board, according to initial reports reaching Coast Guard headquarters in Manila. Sketchy initial reports showed the vessel, heading for China from Papua New Guinea, tilted and sank some 15 nautical miles off Lawaan town in Eastern Samar. Latest reports on the sinking of SuperFerry 9 show that at least nine were confirmed dead while more than 900 have been rescued and two still missing. - GMANews.TV