800 missing as ship sinks in 15 minutes

Huge waves washed people off liferaft: survivor

More than 800 people were missing last night after a Philippine passenger ship capsized in a typhoon that has killed scores and left a trail of destruction across the archipelago.

Sulpicio Lines, the owner of the MV Princess of Stars, revised up the number of people missing to 845 after discovering an extra 100 passengers on the ship's manifest.

Typhoon Fengshen swept through the central Philippines at the weekend, leaving at least 155 people confirmed dead - apart from those on the ferry, Red Cross and civil defence officials said yesterday.

Only four people on board the ferry are so far known to have survived.

One survivor, crew member Reynato Lanorio, told how the ship listed and sank quickly in heavy seas. "It seemed like everything happened in 15 minutes. Next thing we knew, the ship had gone under," he said.

Mr Lanorio said the captain gave orders to abandon ship shortly after it listed, sending passengers and crew scrambling for life rafts.

"Many of us managed to get on the lifeboats, but I don't know if they survived," he said, adding that four other people on his raft were wrenched away by the huge waves as he clung on for dear life.

The ferry went down at around noon on Saturday several kilometres off the coast of Sibuyan Island, after being battered by huge waves overnight when its engines failed.

Four bodies washed ashore on Sibuyan, but the death toll was expected to rise sharply as many people were still inside the ship when it sank.

A coastguard ship is searching the waters around the hulk of the 23,824 tonne vessel, which is upside-down with only its bow above the waves, looking for survivors.

The head of the coastguard, Vice-Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo, said there were lots of small islands in the area where survivors could be sheltering.

"We are hoping more people will have reached the shore," he said.

Two more rescue boats would be sent as soon as the weather improved, Vice-Admiral Tamayo said.

Witnesses reported lifejackets from the doomed vessel washing ashore along with other debris.

"There were many plastic slippers of children also found floating on the shore but no survivors," said Nanette Tansingco, mayor of San Fernando, a coastal town on Sibuyan.

The ship, travelling from Manila to the central island of Cebu - and 16 hours into its 22-hour voyage - issued a distress signal before going down.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo demanded to know why the ferry was allowed to leave Manila with the typhoon about to hit the country.

"I want answers," she said from on board the presidential plane en route to the United States.

Coastguard officials said the ship's manifest included 20 children, 33 infants and 121 crew.

Elsewhere, the central province of Iloilo on Panay Island suffered the heaviest losses, with 101 dead, Philippine senator and Red Cross chairman Richard Gordon said.

Other fatalities were recorded in the neighbouring provinces of Romblon, Cotabato, Antique and Capiz, Senator Gordon said. "We got hit real bad this time," he added.

The typhoon has continued to move northwest, passing Manila and moving over the northern half of the main island of Luzon, packing maximum winds of 120km/h.

At 11pm, Fengshen was centred 570km south-southeast of the island of Dongsha. It is forecast to move northwest or north-northwest at 18km/h towards the northeastern part of the South China Sea.

Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said it might issue a storm warning today as the storm approached.

SCMP. Jun 23, 2008.