Fifteen dead, 28 missing as ferry sinks in southern Philippines

AFP/APP

Manila: A ferry with more than 350 people onboard sank early Monday in the southern Philippines, leaving at least 15 people dead and 28 still missing, the coast guard said.

The MV Trisha Kerstin 3 issued a distress signal at around 1:50 am (1750 GMT Sunday), more than four hours after departing the Port of Zamboanga City on the southwestern tip of Mindanao, according to a coast guard statement.

At least 316 people have been rescued so far, coast guard commander Romel Dua told AFP. Fifteen deaths have been confirmed, while 28 passengers remain unaccounted for.

“A coast guard aircraft is also on the way to help the operation. The Navy and Air Force have also sent their assets,” said Dua, who is based in southern Mindanao.

Read More: https://thepenpk.com/typhoon-fung-wong-death-toll-reaches-18-in-philippines/

The ferry sank about five kilometres east of Baluk-Baluk Island, part of the Basilan province chain of islands off the Zamboanga Peninsula.

Basilan emergency responder Ronalyn Perez said rescuers were struggling to cope with the sudden influx of survivors.

“The challenge really is the number of patients that are coming in. We are short-staffed at the moment,” Perez told AFP, adding that at least 18 survivors had been taken to a local hospital.

“The ferry was sailing from Zamboanga City to Jolo Island when the incident happened,” she said.

Video released by the Philippine Coast Guard showed survivors being pulled from the water and given medical attention. In one live Facebook video, survivors could be heard shouting for help in the darkness.

Read More: https://thepenpk.com/deadly-typhoon-kalmaegi-ravages-vietnam-philippines/

“We cannot say for now the reason for the sinking, but we were instructed to conduct a marine casualty investigation to determine the cause,” Dua said. “As of now, we are focused on the rescue.”

Survivors were being transported to coast guard stations in Zamboanga City and Isabela City, he added. The coast guard also stated that the ferry had not been overloaded.

The Philippines, an archipelago nation of about 116 million people, has a long history of deadly inter-island ferry accidents. Many residents rely on inexpensive and poorly regulated vessels to travel among the country’s more than 7,000 islands.

In 2023, more than 30 people were killed when a fire swept through a ferry in the southern Philippines.