US divers to join search on Philippine ferry

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-25  |     ONLINE EDITION

Rescuers search near the sunken passenger ferry the MV Princess of the Stars off Sibuyan Island, in central Philippines yesterday. Divers wriggled into the capsized ferry Tuesday and found only bodies, including that of a crewman still clutching a radio, three days after some 850 people went down with the vessel during a powerful typhoon, officials said. More in photo gallery

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US navy divers will join the grim search for bodies in a sunken ferry in the Philippines today with over 700 people still missing.

Hundreds of passengers were feared trapped inside the Princess of the Stars when it ran aground and capsized in waves as big as houses off the central island of Sibuyan during a typhoon on Saturday.

Philippine divers saw upto 15 bodies in lifevests bobbing in airpockets when they searched part of the ship on Tuesday. They retrieved three, including one believed to be a crew member still clutching his radio.

"They are optimistic they will be able to penetrate the others spaces today," Lieutenant Commander Armand Balilo, coast guard spokesman, said.

Officials do not expect to find any survivors.

Around 10 divers from US military ship, the USNS Stockham, will join the operation after receiving orientation.

Plans to bore a hole into the side of the seven-storey vessel have been abandoned for fear of disturbing around 100,000 litres of bunker fuel still on board.

Princess of the Stars was resting upside down with the tip of its bow above the water and its stern resting on the bottom of the sea, easily visible from shore.

So far, 48 people have been found alive out of 865 passengers and crew on board and 70 bodies have been counted, the coast guard said.

Decomposing corpses keep washing up on surrounding islands, including 22 on one island, forcing ill-equipped communities to quickly bury them.

The sinking of Princess of the Stars may be the Philippines' worst maritime disaster since 1987 when the Dona Paz ferry collided with an oil tanker killing more than 4,000 people.

Sulpicio Lines, which owns Princess of the Stars, also owned the Dona Paz.

DANGEROUS WATERS

Sulpicio Lines has agreed to bring recovered bodies to the central city of Cebu, where the ship was meant to dock and distraught relatives were waiting.