Post by Forum Moderator / Kaskasero on Jun 24, 2008 14:53:31 GMT 8
"After three days, they tend to float"
AFP 23 June 2008 | 3:36 PM
Aboard the BRP Pampanga, June 23, 2008 (AFP) - The captain of the patrol boat knows that at this point, he isn't really searching for survivors of the Philippine ferry disaster -- he's looking for bodies.
"After three days," Lieutenant Commander Inocencio Rosario says, "they tend to float."
More than 48 hours after the Princess of the Stars went down with more than 850 souls aboard, hopes are slim of finding people still alive. It will likely be recorded as one of the worst maritime disasters in Philippine history.
The slippers of children and a handful of bodies have already washed up -- as well as 32 survivors -- and it seems likely that most of the passengers and crew perished in the churning waters whipped up by Typhoon Fengshen.
The sea where the 24,000-tonne ferry went down close to Sibuyan island was still rough on Monday as the coast guard ship Pampanga neared the area after its own tough journey from Manila -- the same trip made by the doomed ferry.
Fighting huge waves and high winds, the Pampanga could only move along at about 14 knots (16 miles/26 kilometres) an hour.
It passed on the lee of the many small islands that dot the country's busiest shipping route to avoid the tail end of the typhoon, but was still battling six-metre (20-foot) waves on its way to the site of the sinking.
Survivors have described how the boat seemed to tilt and then sink suddenly -- all in about 15 minutes after the captain sounded the distress signal on Saturday.
There were emotional scenes at the ferry company's Manila office early Monday as angry relatives cursed company employees for failing to provide updates on the whereabouts of their kin.
Some have been clinging to unconfirmed reports of sightings of survivors, while others hope the rescuers will be able to find people still alive in the submerged wreckage of the ferry.
The Pampanga is carrying rescue divers and cutting equipment to get into the ship. Commodore Cecil Chen, the regional Philippine coast guard commander, was also on board for the rescue operation.
"Our objective today is to go near the wreck so that we can look inside if anyone is still there," Chen said aboard the Pampanga, which was still around 50 miles away from the site.
But he said he had been in radio contact with other vessels that were closer, and that they had been unable to get closer to the Princess of the Stars -- the tip of whose bow is the only thing still above water.
AFP 23 June 2008 | 3:36 PM
Aboard the BRP Pampanga, June 23, 2008 (AFP) - The captain of the patrol boat knows that at this point, he isn't really searching for survivors of the Philippine ferry disaster -- he's looking for bodies.
"After three days," Lieutenant Commander Inocencio Rosario says, "they tend to float."
More than 48 hours after the Princess of the Stars went down with more than 850 souls aboard, hopes are slim of finding people still alive. It will likely be recorded as one of the worst maritime disasters in Philippine history.
The slippers of children and a handful of bodies have already washed up -- as well as 32 survivors -- and it seems likely that most of the passengers and crew perished in the churning waters whipped up by Typhoon Fengshen.
The sea where the 24,000-tonne ferry went down close to Sibuyan island was still rough on Monday as the coast guard ship Pampanga neared the area after its own tough journey from Manila -- the same trip made by the doomed ferry.
Fighting huge waves and high winds, the Pampanga could only move along at about 14 knots (16 miles/26 kilometres) an hour.
It passed on the lee of the many small islands that dot the country's busiest shipping route to avoid the tail end of the typhoon, but was still battling six-metre (20-foot) waves on its way to the site of the sinking.
Survivors have described how the boat seemed to tilt and then sink suddenly -- all in about 15 minutes after the captain sounded the distress signal on Saturday.
There were emotional scenes at the ferry company's Manila office early Monday as angry relatives cursed company employees for failing to provide updates on the whereabouts of their kin.
Some have been clinging to unconfirmed reports of sightings of survivors, while others hope the rescuers will be able to find people still alive in the submerged wreckage of the ferry.
The Pampanga is carrying rescue divers and cutting equipment to get into the ship. Commodore Cecil Chen, the regional Philippine coast guard commander, was also on board for the rescue operation.
"Our objective today is to go near the wreck so that we can look inside if anyone is still there," Chen said aboard the Pampanga, which was still around 50 miles away from the site.
But he said he had been in radio contact with other vessels that were closer, and that they had been unable to get closer to the Princess of the Stars -- the tip of whose bow is the only thing still above water.