Ferry capsizes off Philippines
Four killed – 11 missing en route to island in stormy weather
MANILA: Four people were killed and 11 others were missing after a ferry with hundreds on board capsized in stormy weather off the Philippines, rescuers said.
Over 200 passengers and crew were plucked to safety after the Mercraft 3 keeled over in heavy seas en route to a remote island, officials said.
“The wind suddenly picked up and the boat was forced to stop when the bow started taking in water. Passengers ran to the side just before it tipped over,” student Donel Mendiola told DZMM radio.
“Some of us swam, but I saw some old people who were apparently already dead,” Mendiola said.
Two men and two women were killed, while the search for those still missing has been suspended for the night, Ron Crisostomo, a civil defence official in Infanta town near Real said.
“It was rainy and the wind was up. It was no longer safe for the rescuers, but they will continue tomorrow,” Crisostomo said.
Janet Balili, a local council member, told ABS-CBN television 11 people remain missing.
The station aired footage of rescuers taking injured survivors to a hospital. Four body bags were also seen being laid out on the floor.
The boat tipped over between the remote island of Polillo and Real town, about 70km east of Manila, shortly before noon, the coastguard said.
It said the ferry was carrying 251 passengers and crew when it left the port of Real for Polillo, a 2.5- hour trip.
“We believe the weather was a big factor” in the accident, coastguard spokesman Armand Balilo told reporters in Manila.
The ferry sailed as Tropical Storm Tembin loomed over the southern Philippines, nearly a thousand kilometres away.
The vessel, which is licensed to carry up to 286 people, was allowed to sail as there were no storm warnings at or around Real or Polillo, Balilo said.
The government had advised Filipinos planning to return to their home provinces for Christmas to do so earlier than usual to avoid heavy weather forecast to hit ahead of the holidays. — AFP