LEGAZPI: Six more people were hauled out of the sea after a ferry sank in the Philippines with dozens on board, officials said yesterday, as navy divers were called in to hunt for survivors.
Seven people remain missing a day after the Lady of Mount Carmel ferry mysteriously sank in calm weather about two kilometres from central Burias island, killing two women passengers.
“Navy divers plan to search underwater to find the ship and check whether there were passengers trapped inside,” regional navy spokesman Ensign John Duruin told reporters.
The coastguard and local fishermen were also assisting with rescue efforts, he added.
The vessel sank early on Friday near the end of its regular four-hour run between the port of Pio Duran and Masbate island in the central Philippines.
Six more people had been rescued, raising the number of survivors to 61, according to the civil defence office in the regional capital Legazpi city.
Officials did not offer any information on the condition of the six or how they were rescued.
Duruin said only three of the 61 survivors were still in hospital.
Meanwhile, officials said they now believe there were 70 people aboard the vessel when it tipped over — more than the 57 listed in the vessel’s manifest.
The cause of the sinking is under investigation, Duruin said.
Meanwhile, another ferry with more than 360 passengers on board hit a submerged rock that punctured its hull before dawn urday, causing the engine to flood, the coastguard said.
However, the Gregory the Great was able to reach the nearby central port of Iloilo without further incident, a coastguard statement said.
AFP
