Divers search first-class cabins on Philippine ferry

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

DIVERS scouted for bodies in first-class cabins on a capsized ferry in the Philippines today looking for more than 700 people still missing in the disaster.

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

Entering the seven-storey vessel is precarious. Its stern is wedged on a rocky ledge and strong waves could cause it to slide down, a navy official said.

Five bloated corpses, including one believed to be a crew member still clutching his radio, were retrieved on Tuesday.

"We are still checking on those in the first-class cabin. They are still prioritising that, then they will swim deeper to check on other spaces," Lieutenant Commander Armand Balilo, coast guard spokesman, said.

Divers from a U.S. military ship, the USNS Stockham, joined the operation.

Above water, decomposing corpses keep washing up in surrounding areas, forcing islanders to quickly bury them.

A male foreigner appeared to be among the bodies recovered but officials said it was not possible yet to identify his nationality.

The coast guard was checking reports of at least 20 corpses, all wearing life vests, bobbing in the waves.

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.

The tragedy could 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 the Princess of the Stars, also owned the Dona Paz.

SHIPPING TRAGEDIES

The United States, the Philippines' former colonial master, has pledged to send an aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, to aid in the relief effort following Typhoon Fengshen, which devastated islands in the centre of the archipelago.