Hundreds dead after ferry hit by typhoon

Hundreds of passengers were feared trapped and may have died after a ferry near the Philippines capsized after being hit by Typhoon Fengshen. The ferry left Manila en route to Cebu on Friday, and according to the owners, Sulpicio Lines, contact was lost at about 1230 local time Saturday.

A rescue ship was sent to rescue the survivors, although this only happened 24 hours after contact was lost with the boat. One of the survivors described the incident. “There were many of us who jumped overboard, but we were separated because of the big waves,” he said. He continued, “the others were also able to board the life rafts, but it was useless because the strong winds flipped them over.”

The ferry, MV Princess of the Stars, was a owned by Filipino shipping company Sulpicio Lines built in 1984, the 23,824-tonne ferry MV Princess of the Stars had a total passenger capacity of 1,992 people.

The ferry left the port of Manila on June 21 on its away to Cebu City, yhe number of passengers is variously reported between 700 and 800. The ferry sent a distress signal late on June 21 when its engines stalled in rough seas near Sibuyan Island. San Fernando mayor Nanette Tansingco sent a speedboat and confirmed that the ferry had a hole in the hull, is partially submerged and several bodies were found nearby.

A rescue ship reached the MV Princess of the Stars, more than 24 hours after it lost radio contact at 12:30 p.m. EDT (04:30 GMT) on Saturday.

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