Coast Guard looks for 20 missing passengers of Catalyn

The ship that sank off Mindoro Occidental Sunday may still have missing passengers, an official of the Philippine Coast Guard said on Monday. Vice Admiral Damian Carlos, Coast Guard chief, said that at least 20 people were not listed on the vessel’s official manifest. "The manifest had 238 passengers. Authorized passengers and crew total was 267, but our running tally of those rescued and killed so far reached 287. So at this point there are at least 20 unauthorized or unmanifested passengers," said Carlos. He urged the passengers’ relatives who might have been aboard the vessel but were not on the list to contact the Coast Guard hotline at 0917-7243682 (0917-PCGDOTC). Rear Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said San Nicolas Shipping Lines, the owner of the vessel, figured in a similar tragedy in May 2003. Initial investigation showed MV Catalyn-D left Pier 2 at the Manila North Harbor 6:30 p.m. on Saturday with at least 224 passengers and 28 crewmen listed in the manifest. The ship was on its way to Coron in Palawan at about 5 a.m. Sunday when fire broke out from the ship’s cargo section. Coast Guard officials said the first distress call was sent by the crew shortly before 8 a.m. Sunday. They added BRP Pampanga was the first Coast Guard ship that responded. - GMANews.TV