No sign of life on Philippine ferry - June 24 2008

Philippines navy divers who have entered the hull of a capsized passenger ferry say they have found many bodies, and no sign of survivors.

More than 800 people are believed to be trapped on board, but only 43 people are known to have survived.

Al Jazeera's Marga Ortigas reports from Cebu.




Over 700 people remain missing after the "Princess of the Star" ferry in which they were traveling sank during typhoon Fengshen.
Rescuers are making their way through rough seas to search for missing people as the typhoon continues to rage. With winds of up to 120 miles per hour, Fengshen struck the central and northern Philippines on Saturday. A coast guard rescue ship reached the waters off Sibuyan Island, 300 kilometres south of Manila, where the MV Princess of the Stars sank after running aground.
A hole in the hull was seen as the ferry lay submerged about a kilometer and a half from the shore of Sibuyan. Weather has prevented rescuers from reaching nearby islands where survivors could have drifted.
A U.S. Navy ship from Okinawa, Japan, was expected to arrive early Tuesday near Sibuyan Island south of Manila, where the ferry sank.

Only 38 people had been rescued, including 28 passengers and crew members who came ashore Monday after drifting at sea since Saturday. One survivor recounted the sinking: "There were many children trapped inside the boat. I could hear them wailing before the boat sank," said Renato Lanorias, a crew member of the 23,824-ton ferry who survived by clinging to the rope of a life raft until he hit land, along with three others.
Lanorias said he could not forget the hundreds of bodies floating at sea and the cries for help from the victims as the ship keeled over and went under.
Princess of the Stars, owned by Sulpicio Lines, sailed from Manila at 8 a.m. on Friday on a 22-hour trip to Cebu City with 626 passengers and 121 crewmen. Among the passengers were 31 infants and 20 children.