Sixteen drown as boat capsizes in parade

An overcrowded boat capsized during a religious sea parade in a central Philippine province today killing at least 16 people, most of them children, officials and witnesses said.

An undetermined number remained missing after the ferry SunJay suddenly overturned and hurled those aboard – many of the children – into the sea off San Ricardo town in Southern Leyte province.

“I saw lots of children crying ’help! Help!’ scattered everywhere in the waters,” said Rogelio Buba, a fisherman aboard a boat trailing the SunJay.

His wife and two-year-old daughter were on board the ferry, which was loaded far beyond its 60-passenger capacity.

The Coast Guard and army were en route to the accident scene to help in the search, officials said.

Southern Leyte Governor Rosette Lerias said one person fell overboard and when others on the vessel went to one side to see what had happened, it lost stability and overturned.

The religious sea parade was meant to honour the infant Jesus, during the annual festival of Santo Nino, Lerias said.

Although the accident occurred in good weather, many of the victims were unable to reach shore because of injuries or strong currents, said Lerias.

Buba said many children swam to his boat and he helped about 10 on board while he looked frantically for his family. He later saw his wife struggling to lift their unconscious daughter above water.

Other fishermen in the area rescued them as his boat was already filled with children, he said by telephone from a hospital where his daughter was being treated in nearby Pintuyan town.

His daughter later regained consciousness but remained in the hospital.

Corazon Gloria, a doctor at the hospital, said 16 bodies were brought there, including 14 children.

Lerias, who was directing rescue operations from Manila, said local officials in San Ricardo, about 400 miles southeast of the capital, couldn’t immediately determine how many more people were missing becase there was no boat passenger manifest.

“We can’t stop traditions but this is a wake-up call,” she said. “Children shouldn’t be allowed aboard these boats because they’re the most helpless when accident strikes.”

Boat accidents are common in the Philippines because many ferries used in inter-island travel are old and poorly maintained and there is weak enforcement of sea safety regulations.