Tuesday, divers found bodies of the passengers who
were on board of a Philippine ferry, which capsized during a typhoon. According
to Reuters, authorities said that there were about 800 persons on board of the
MV Princess of the Stars when the vessel capsized and turned upside down on Saturday,
off the Coast of Sibuyan Island.
Officials fear that there are many more bodies in the 23,824 tone
vessel. Only about 33 people managed to be rescued so far. Lieutenant Commander
Inocencio Rosario of the coast guard said that there was little hope of finding
anyone alive.
The bodies were all swollen because of the water and divers
had to cut some cables that were wrapped around the corpses. One victim was
believed to be a crew member. In order to bring the rest of the bodies to the
surface, authorities want to make a hole inside the ferry in order to pull the
corpses out. They will have to be careful, because there are about 100,000 liters of bunker fuel still on board.
Even though officials reported that the boat had 747
passengers on board, Monday they said there were more than 800. Everybody is
asking why the ship was allowed to leave in the first place, given the fact that
the typhoon was approaching.
The owner of Princess of the Stars Sulpicio Lines said that
they had the coast guard’s approval. The company was order to suspend its
services, while an investigation would clear things out.
This was not the first time when the company had this kind of accidents.
In 1987, the Dona Paz ferry crashed into an oil tanker and 4,000 people died. The
Philippines
has had many problems and disasters of this kind, because the waters are not very
safe and the ships are not properly equipped.
The Fengshen typhoon, the seventh typhoon this year, caused
much damage and forced the evacuation of over 200,000 people.
© 2007 - 2009 - eFluxMedia