14 dead, 21 missing after ferry sinks

Rescue teams mounted a search today for 21 people, including a town mayor and a group of students, missing after their ferry sank in the southern Philippines in bad weather, officials said.

Fourteen bodies have so far been recovered, according to officials.

Surigao del Norte provincial governor Robert Lyndon Barbers said 66 people were rescued by a passing boat and coastguard personnel in the waters where the ferry Leonida II capsized yesterday afternoon off Hinatuan island, about 444 miles south-east of Manila.

The wooden-hulled ferry, which was also carrying 300 sacks of cement and 18 sacks of rice, ran into large waves that damaged its bamboo outrigger, which provides balance to the vessel, and caused the boat to sink, Barbers told the Associated Press.

Authorities initially said 18 people were missing but more relatives came forward to report family members who had been in the ferry, Barbers said.

A passing boat rescued passengers and crew who jumped off the ferry. Coastguards rescued two crew members off Hinatuan early today, he said.

The ferry was headed to Del Carmen town on Siargao Island from Surigao city when it encountered rough seas and rain, a coastguard spokesman said.

Among those missing was Del Carmen Mayor Arlyn Navarro and a councillor from Surigao, Barbers said.

Navarro was on the way home along with a group of students, who had attended a conference in Siargao city, he said.

“This is so unfortunate a tragedy because the people were already looking up to Christmas,” said Barbers as he visited an emergency centre in Surigao city where the bodies of seven passengers were taken to be identified by relatives.

Barbers said he has asked the navy to send deep-sea divers and may ask the air force to help in the search and rescue.

Boat accidents happen frequently in the Philippines because many ferries, a key mode of transport in the archipelago, are old and poorly maintained, while enforcement of safety regulations is weak.