At least 28 people have died and more than 200 are missing after a ferry collided with a cargo ship and sank off the Philippines.
Divers are combing through the sunken ferry to retrieve the bodies of more than 200 people who are missing after a collision with a cargo vessel near the port of Cebu.
The crash sent passengers jumping into the ocean and left many others trapped - hundreds were rescued.
The captain of the ferry MV Thomas Aquinas, which was approaching the port late yesterday when the crash happened, ordered the ship abandoned when it began listing and then sank just minutes after collision with the MV Sulpicio Express, coast guard deputy chief Rear Admiral Luis Tuason said.
The ferry was carrying 752 passengers, including children and infants, and 118 crew. The number is higher than the 841 earlier reported by ferry owner 2Go, Mr Tuason said.
He said that 213 people are still missing, some of them possibly trapped inside the vessel that sank in waters about 33 metres (100 feet) deep off Talisay city in Cebu province.
Twenty-eight people, including children, have been confirmed dead and 629 passengers and crew have been rescued.
Mr Tuason said that navy divers recovered at least four more bodies from the underwater wreck early today.
Reporters at the site, about two kilometres (1.25 miles) from shore, saw the bodies coated with fuel and oil that had spilled from the ferry.
'There could be more bodies there, but there were ropes inside that our divers could get entangled in,' Mr Tuason said.
He said that the coast guard will send more divers with deep-water equipment to help retrieve bodies.
In a statement, 2Go said the ferry 'was reportedly hit' by the cargo vessel 'resulting in major damage that led to its sinking'. An investigation will begin after the rescue operation, the coast guard said.
Danny Palmero, a former fisherman, said he was with friends who responded to the ferry's distress call and rescued seven people on their motorised outrigger canoe.
'I saw many flares being shot,' he said. 'As a former nautical student, I knew it was a distress signal.'
He said a fisherman arrived at the shore with three survivors and told the crowd gathered that there was a collision and that there were many people in the water.
'We just picked up the survivors and left the dead in the water,' he said. 'I heard screams and crying.'
The crewmen of the cargo ship were throwing life jackets to the people who jumped into the dark waters, he said.
He said there is a large gash at the front of the cargo vessel. 'It now has a mouth,' he said.
Hundreds of passengers jumped into the ocean as the ship started to sink, according to survivors.
Many of the passengers were asleep and others struggled to find their way in the dark.
Jerwin Agudong said he and other passengers jumped overboard in front of the cargo vessel after the ferry began taking on water and the crew distributed life jackets.
He told radio station DZBB that some people were trapped and he saw bodies in the water.
'It seems some were not able to get out. I pity the children. We saw dead bodies on the side, and some being rescued,' he said.
He said the ferry was entering the pier when the cargo vessel, which was on the way out, suddenly collided with it.
'One of the persons who jumped with us hit his head on metal. He is shaking and he is bloodied,' Mr Agudong said.
The youngest among those rescued was an 11-month baby, news reports said.
The ferry came from Nasipit in Agusan del Sur province in the southern Philippines on a day-long journey, Mr Agudong said.
Divers are combing through the sunken ferry to retrieve the bodies of more than 200 people who are missing after a collision with a cargo vessel near the port of Cebu.
The crash sent passengers jumping into the ocean and left many others trapped - hundreds were rescued.
The captain of the ferry MV Thomas Aquinas, which was approaching the port late yesterday when the crash happened, ordered the ship abandoned when it began listing and then sank just minutes after collision with the MV Sulpicio Express, coast guard deputy chief Rear Admiral Luis Tuason said.
The ferry was carrying 752 passengers, including children and infants, and 118 crew. The number is higher than the 841 earlier reported by ferry owner 2Go, Mr Tuason said.
He said that 213 people are still missing, some of them possibly trapped inside the vessel that sank in waters about 33 metres (100 feet) deep off Talisay city in Cebu province.
Twenty-eight people, including children, have been confirmed dead and 629 passengers and crew have been rescued.
Mr Tuason said that navy divers recovered at least four more bodies from the underwater wreck early today.
Reporters at the site, about two kilometres (1.25 miles) from shore, saw the bodies coated with fuel and oil that had spilled from the ferry.
'There could be more bodies there, but there were ropes inside that our divers could get entangled in,' Mr Tuason said.
He said that the coast guard will send more divers with deep-water equipment to help retrieve bodies.
In a statement, 2Go said the ferry 'was reportedly hit' by the cargo vessel 'resulting in major damage that led to its sinking'. An investigation will begin after the rescue operation, the coast guard said.
Danny Palmero, a former fisherman, said he was with friends who responded to the ferry's distress call and rescued seven people on their motorised outrigger canoe.
'I saw many flares being shot,' he said. 'As a former nautical student, I knew it was a distress signal.'
He said a fisherman arrived at the shore with three survivors and told the crowd gathered that there was a collision and that there were many people in the water.
'We just picked up the survivors and left the dead in the water,' he said. 'I heard screams and crying.'
The crewmen of the cargo ship were throwing life jackets to the people who jumped into the dark waters, he said.
He said there is a large gash at the front of the cargo vessel. 'It now has a mouth,' he said.
Hundreds of passengers jumped into the ocean as the ship started to sink, according to survivors.
Many of the passengers were asleep and others struggled to find their way in the dark.
Jerwin Agudong said he and other passengers jumped overboard in front of the cargo vessel after the ferry began taking on water and the crew distributed life jackets.
He told radio station DZBB that some people were trapped and he saw bodies in the water.
'It seems some were not able to get out. I pity the children. We saw dead bodies on the side, and some being rescued,' he said.
He said the ferry was entering the pier when the cargo vessel, which was on the way out, suddenly collided with it.
'One of the persons who jumped with us hit his head on metal. He is shaking and he is bloodied,' Mr Agudong said.
The youngest among those rescued was an 11-month baby, news reports said.
The ferry came from Nasipit in Agusan del Sur province in the southern Philippines on a day-long journey, Mr Agudong said.
Source : DailyMail , Reuters , AP
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