DIVERS found bodies in lifevests bobbing in airpockets of a giant sunken ferry in the Philippines yesterday, and an official said it would be a miracle if any of the hundreds of missing had survived.

Officials in the Philippines refused to give up hope of rescuing some of the 800 people missing after a ferry capsized during Typhoon Fengshen, even as high seas stalled efforts to get inside the vessel today.

There are fears that the death toll from Typhoon Fengshen would leap dramatically today after reports that more than 700 people are missing after a ferry capsized.

Typhoon Fengshen lashed the Philippines for a second day today, leaving at least 80 people dead as it submerged entire communities and capsized a passenger ferry carrying more than 740 passengers and crew.