Ferry sinks in Philippines; 24 dead, 274 missing

At least 24 people, including several children, have died and more than 270 are missing after a passenger ferry collided with a cargo vessel in the central Philippines.

The incident took place at about 21:00 local time (1300 GMT) on Friday around two kilometers from the shore in the central Philippine port of Cebu.

The MV Thomas Aquinas, carrying about 870 people, was sailing into the port at Cebu — the country’s second biggest city — when it collided with the cargo ship travelling the other way. Some 572 people have been rescued so far.

Coastguard officials said that the captain of the ferry ordered the ship abandoned after it began listing and then began sinking.

“The impact was very strong,” said Rachel Capuno, a spokesperson for the owners of the ferry.

According to survivors, hundreds of passengers jumped into the ocean after the accident.

Jerwin Agudong said he and many other passengers jumped overboard in front of the cargo ship after the ferry started submerging.

“It seems some were not able to get out. I pity the children. We saw dead bodies on the side, and some being rescued,” he said.

Maritime mishaps are common in the Philippines because of poor safety standards, overloading and frequent storms.

Ferries and small boats are the main transportation means in the archipelago of more than 7,100 islands.

A total of 4,375 people died in 1987 when the Dona Paz ferry collided with a tanker and sank. The accident remains world’s worst maritime disaster in peacetime.

The ferry MV Princess of the Stars capsized during a typhoon in 2008 in the central Philippines, leaving about 800 people dead.