Divers search for missing after Philippine ferry sinks, 38 dead | World Defense

Divers search for missing after Philippine ferry sinks, 38 dead

BLACKEAGLE

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Residents and relatives of victims watch members of the Philippine Coast Guard attempting to recover the remains of the capsized vessel MBCA Kim-Nirvana during a search and rescue operations near a port in Ormoc city, central Philippines July 2, 2015.
Reuters/Alan Kristofer Motus


Divers will search waters in the central Philippines on Friday for 15 people still missing after a ferry carrying 187 passengers and crew sank a day earlier, killing 38 people, the coast guard said.

There were 134 survivors after the MBCA Kim-Nirvana, a motorized outrigger, capsized minutes after leaving the port of Ormoc City. The number on board was revised down on Friday after it was found two crew members did not board the ferry.

Search and rescue operations continued through the night, with coast guard personnel reinforced by a Philippine navy ship and two air force planes.

A formal marine casualty investigation into the cause of the sinking will begin on Friday, Philippine coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo told local radio.

A preliminary investigation points to human error after the wooden hulled ferry made a sharp right turn soon after it left port in Leyte province, south of the capital, Manila.

Panicked passengers crowded the right side of the ferry, causing it to tilt slowly before capsizing, Balilo said.

"The ferry was carrying cement and rice but it didn't appear to be overloaded," Balilo said.

Scores, sometimes hundreds, of people die each year from ferry accidents in the Philippines, an archipelago of 7,100 islands with a notoriously poor record for maritime safety.

Overcrowding is common and many of the vessels are in bad condition.

(Reporting by Rosemarie Francisco; Editing by Paul Tait)
Divers search for missing after Philippine ferry sinks, 38 dead| Reuters
 

Corzhens

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I was sad when I saw the news on tv last night. Another sea tragedy that could have been prevented if only the marine rules and regulations were followed. This morning on the radio, the search continued although the coast guard who was interviewed was not optimistic to find survivors.

What adds insult to injury is the hype that the tragedy gets now. Expect the government to launch a full blown investigation and promise reforms in the system of sea transportation. But it will fizzle out as usual.
 
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