Rescuers drill hole on ‘Princess’ to get passengers
By Leila Salaverria
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:23:00 06/23/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- Rescue divers have been instructed to cut a hole on the hull of the overturned MV Princess of the Stars in the sea off Romblon to gain access inside the vessel and check for passengers, according to Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo.
The order was given on Monday as the PCG announced that the number of passengers and crew in the ill-fated vessel -- initially pegged at 747 -- was revised and increased to 849 after ship owner Sulpicio Lines, Inc. (SLI) submitted a revised manifest.
The list includes four sea marshalls from the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces and the PCG, who were tasked to secure the ship. None of them have been heard from, said Balilo. The 23,800-ton MV Princess of the Stars has a capacity of 1,992 passengers.
Lieutenant Armand Balilo, the PCG spokesperson, explained that the first manifest submitted by SLI contained the number of passengers one hour before the ship departed Manila on Friday. The supplemental manifest contained the total number of passengers, including those who bought tickets at the last minute.
The MV Princess of the Stars left Manila on Friday evening and sent a distress call at 12:55 p.m. on Saturday, saying it was experiencing engine trouble off Sibuyan Island, Romblon. The ship was later confirmed to have capsized. Majority of the passengers remain unaccounted for.
SLI owner Edward Go, speaking briefly at a press conference at the PCG, sympathized with the families of the victims, vowing to compensate them and be open to investigation.
"We would like to [convey] our sympathy to the families who lost their loved ones, relatives. Rest assured that the victim would be properly compensated. We shall continue our effort to do the search and rescue and give our full cooperation to the authorities on the investigation," Go said.
He said the incident was most unwelcome.
"Thank you for your kind understanding in this tragedy. This is a tragedy that nobody wanted," he said.
Officials of the National Disaster Coordinating Council and PCG said Monday evening that the number of survivors had risen to 57.
The death toll, on the other hand, rose to 20, after 16 bodies washed on shore, were recovered, also on Monday, the officials said.
Tamayo said that aside from the 14 divers from the PCG and the PCG auxiliary, divers from the Navy and from SLI were also expected to penetrate the capsized vessel.
"We have given instructions to start coming up with an opening on the hull to facilitate the access of the divers [to the ship]. We gave them permission to use cutters in making an opening on the hull," Tamayo said in a press conference with officials of the Department of Transportation and Communication.
When asked, Tamayo and Balilo both said it was possible that there were air pockets inside the ship where survivors could have stayed.
Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza said helicopters were deployed to check the nearby areas for any lifeboats or survivors from the MV Princess of the Stars.
He noted that some of the survivors were found as far away as Quezon. He added that this could have been caused by the strong winds and waves brought by typhoon Frank.
"The waves and wind must have been strong. We just hope we can recover more survivors," he said.
PCGA Rear Admiral Benjamin Mata also said it was not far-fetched that the survivors reached Quezon considering how powerful the winds were.
A list released by the NDCC Monday evening listed the survivors as: Jessie Buot, Reynaldo Lanurias, Jesus Gica, Oliver, Amorin, Rey Paguin (Cebu), Danilo Deplanas (Cebu), Richie Tayuntong (Cebu), Gerry Palenor (Cebu), Philip Vasquez (Cebu), Uriel Laguban (Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur),
Ralph Alain dela Peña (Cebu), Carlo Jason Aravis (Cebu), Rodel Laborte (Cebu), Phil Gilig (Cebu), Jose Marie Garbo (Cebu), Niño Lauros (Cebu), Rupert Tan (Cagayan de Oro City), Ciriaco Nuñez (Cebu), Fausto Colis (Bicol), Francisco Batula (Cubao); Vicente Beruas (San Mateo, Rizal);
Reynante Adina (Cebu), Exuperto Pendon (Cebu), Jonathan Pendon (Cebu), Susan Lisbo (Novaliches, Quezon City), Minerva Toremucha (Bohol), Antonio Cosep (Bantayan, Cebu), Ronnie Relatibo (Malate, Manila), Ruel Libot (Apas, Cebu); Estanislao Tura Jr. (Bantayan, Cebu), Nilo Dayogo (San Pedro, Laguna); and Jesserey Bianco (Cebu).
A list of survivors as well as the manifest of the ill-fated ferry is also available at the Sulpicio Lines website
www.sulpiciolines.com.
The shipping line has also assigned the following Manila hotline numbers -- 3821456 and 4745205 (look for Carmela or Maricar) -- for inquiries on casualties and survivors of the mishap.
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