Superferry 9 sinks, 5 killed

MANILA, Philippines - The passenger ship which was reported dangerously listing in the south at dawn today (Sept. 6)  has sunk, according to Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro. At least five people drowned and more than 800 terrified passengers were rescued.

Teodoro, also the chairman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council, said he received a report from the Western Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines that Superferry 9 had sunk.

"Lumubog na [ang] Superferry totally sabi sa report ng Westmincom sa atin," Teodoro said. "Ang importante ngayun ay ma-process na yung mga names ng mga na-rescue para ma ere na atin at hindi na mag alala yung mga relatives nila (The important thing now is to process the names of those who were rescued so that  their relatives will not worry)," Teodoro said.

He said air and sea vessels are still scouring the area where the ship sunk for any passengers who might still be stranded in the waters.

Rescue teams earlier recovered the bodies of two passengers. PCG spokesman Lt. Commander Armand Balilo said the report from the field disclosed that the bodies of an adult and a child were found near the area where the ship sunk.

Superferry 9 was carrying 847 passengers and 117 crewmembers, according to its owner, the Aboitiz Transport System.

The cause of the listing was not clear. The ferry skipper ordered everyone on board to abandon the ship as a precautionary step, said Jess Supan, vice president of Aboitiz Transport System, which owns the steel-hulled ferry.

Passenger Roger Cinciron told dzMM radio by cell phone that he felt the ferry was tilting around midnight but he was assured by a crewman that everything was well. About two hours later, he was roused from sleep by the sound of crashing cargo below his cabin, he said.

"People began to panic because the ship was really tilting," he said as he waited for rescuers to save him and a group of more than 20 other passengers.

The ferry left the southern port city of General Santos yesterday (Sept. 5) and was scheduled to arrive in Iloilo city today (Sept. 6) but it apparently ran into some problems midway and began to list, according to Supan.

The Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine Navy and Aboitiz Shipping Lines immediately deployed rescue vessels to the area. A total of 832 people have been rescued so far as of this posting, according to the Coast Guard.

Balilo said the ship was allowed to set sail since the weather was normal. "Maganda naman ang panahon (The weather was good)," Balilo said in a radio interview.

The weather was generally fair in the Zamboanga peninsula region, about 860 kilometers  south of Manila, although a tropical storm was battering the country's mountainous north, the coast guard said.

Sea accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago because of tropical storms, badly maintained boats and weak enforcement of safety regulations.

In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,341 people in the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster. --- With AP