26 Killed, 200 Missing in Philippine Ferry Disaster

Local Editor

At least 26 people died and more than 200 are missing after a ferry collided with a cargo ship and sank off the Philippines.

The MV Thomas Aquinas was in collision with the cargo vessel on Friday evening near the central city of Cebu, officials said.

The ship was carrying 752 passengers and 118 crew, according to latest coast guard figures.

The incident took place around 2km from the shore.

The ferry was sailing into the port at Cebu - the country's second biggest city - when it collided with the cargo ship travelling the other way.
"The impact was very strong," Rachel Capuno, a spokesperson for the owners of the ferry, told local radio.
Survivors said hundreds of passengers jumped into the ocean as the ferry began taking on water and listing. The crew distributed life jackets.
Many of the passengers were asleep and others struggled to find their way in the dark, reports said.

The ferry sank within 30 minutes of the collision.

Rear Admiral Luis Tuason of the coast guard said navy divers recovered at least four more bodies from the wreck early on Saturday.
"There could be more bodies there but there were ropes inside that our divers could get entangled in," he said.
The coast guard is to send more divers with deep-water equipment to help recover bodies, he added.

Another coast guard official told reporters that the cargo ship, Sulpicio Express 7, had 36 crew members on board, but it did not sink.
Passengers on the ferry had embarked at Nasipit in the southern province of Agusan del Sur.

The coastguard and some commercial vessels were able to pick up more than 600 survivors.
The 11,000 ton ferry was 40 years old, and operated by a Chinese-owned company called 2Go.
Maritime accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago because of tropical weather, badly maintained passenger boats and weak enforcement of safety regulations.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team