Death toll hits 39 in Philippines ferry accident

CEBU, Philippines (AP):

As the MV Thomas Aquinas cruised toward Cebu city in the central Philippines, navy marshal Richard Pestillos prepared for a brief stop while some passengers watched a band and others soaked in the night breeze on the deck.

Then the scene turned chaotic when the ferry, with 870 passengers and crew, and a cargo ship collided late Friday, ripping a hole in its hull, knocking out its power and causing it to list before rapidly sinking as people screamed, according to Pestillos and other witnesses.

Coast guard officials said at least 39 died and more than 80 were missing in the latest deadly sea accident in the Philippines, which happened 570 kilometres (350 miles) south of Manila.

MORE THAN 750 RESCUED

Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III said 751 passengers and crew of the Thomas Aquinas were rescued. There were no signs of additional survivors late Sunday, although Davide told reporters that he had not given up hope.

Pestillos, one of several people praised for saving others in the accident, said he distributed life jackets and launched life rafts before creating his own flotation device by tying three life jackets to his navy service rifle.

Cebu coast guard chief Commodore William Melad said there were 870 people on the ferry, including 754 passengers and 116 crew, after collating records of hospitals, rescuers and the ferry owner.

Coast guard deputy chief Rear Admiral Luis Tuason said some of the missing could still be trapped in the sunken ferry, which has been leaking oil.

Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya said the cargo ship was leaving the Cebu pier when it smashed into the right side near the rear of the ferry which was arriving from southern Agusan del Sur province and making a brief stop in Cebu before proceeding to Manila.

Outbound and incoming ships are assigned separate routes in the narrow channel leading to the busy Cebu pier. It is not known if one of the vessels strayed into the wrong lane, coast guard officials said.

"There was probably a non-observance of rules," Melad told a news conference in Cebu on Sunday, but he said the investigation will start after the search-and-rescue work ends.