Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
At least 15 people died and dozens are missing ferry Car carrying hundreds of people capsizes in south the Philippines.
At least 28 people were still missing as search and rescue teams combed the area on Monday afternoon, and hundreds had been rescued from the sinking ship.
The MV Trisha Kerstin ferry departs from Zamboanga Port to Jolo Island, Sulu Province.
Coast Guard officials said the vessel sent a distress call four hours after setting off and sank just after midnight due to technical problems. The time of the capsizing was set at around 1.50am local time on Monday morning.
A Philippine Coast Guard vessel, a surveillance aircraft, an Air Force Black Hawk helicopter and a fleet of fishing boats Boat Deployed to assist in rescue operations.
Video released by the Philippine Coast Guard showed survivors floating with the help of life jackets and others being rescued from the water.
A Facebook Live video also showed distressed passengers screaming for help in the dark.
Coast Guard Commander Romel Dua said the ship had a capacity of 352 people at the time of the accident, with 332 passengers and 27 crew members on board.
He said the relatively calm waters aided the search and rescue team’s efforts.
“There was a Coast Guard safety officer on board and he was the first to call us to alert us to deploy a rescue vessel,” Mr Dua said, adding that the safety officer survived.
Mr Dua said investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the accident.
Rescue teams were initially overwhelmed by the number of passengers and understaffed hospitals were overwhelmed by the sudden surge of survivors, local media reported.
“We cannot yet say the cause of the sinking, but we have been instructed to conduct a maritime casualty investigation to determine the cause,” Dua said.
Mujiv Hataman, the governor of Basilan Province, shared footage from the scene in the port of Isabela in Mindanao on Facebook, showing survivors being rescued from the ship, some wrapped in thermal blankets and others carried on stretchers.
“I received 37 people at the dock. Unfortunately, two of them died,” Mr Hataman said.
Mr Hataman told DZBB radio that most survivors were in good condition but several elderly passengers required urgent medical care, adding that officials were still verifying the passenger list as rescue operations continued.
Ferry accidents have Not uncommon in the PhilippinesIt is an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands, and boats are the main means of transportation, especially in remote and impoverished areas.
Some of the country’s worst maritime disasters have involved ferries, including the 1987 Mrs. Patz The sinking killed more than 4,300 people, making it one of the world’s worst peacetime maritime disasters.
By 2023, there will be more than Fire kills 30 people via southern ferry the Philippines.