Two Boats Capsize In Rough Seas 16 Dead, 65 Missing When Ferry, Tour Boat Sink In Philippines
Two ferry boats sank in turbulent seas off Manila and the central Philippines on Friday, killing 16 people and leaving 65 others missing and feared dead.
Four of the dead were Hong Kong tourists aboard the King Rogers, which was returning from a sightseeing tour of Manila Bay when it capsized in strong winds and big waves.
Helen Wong said most of the 43 Hong Kong tourists on board became frightened when the boat started shaking.
“We told the tour leader to bring us back to shore because the waves were becoming bigger,” Wong said. “The leader said not to worry because we were about to end the tour anyway.”
Wong said the boat suddenly overturned 400 yards from the Manila Yacht Club marina.
Rescuers heard people knocking from inside the hull of the boat but found no one after several hours of searching.
Wong’s mother-in-law was among the 20 people missing, while her husband, mother and 4-year-old son survived.
In the central Philippines, strong winds and high waves overturned a ferry before dawn Friday, killing at least 12 people and leaving about 45 missing.
The weather bureau in Manila said the turbulence was caused by monsoon winds from the southwest and also by Typhoon Winnie.
Lt. Cmdr. Crisolito Agustin, regional coast guard chief, said the Kalibo Star left Cebu for Tacloban City on Leyte island before it sank early Friday.
Danilo Macasling, a ferry crew member, said the vessel’s cargo shifted to one side as it was hit by big waves, causing it to capsize near the northern tip of Leyte.
Agustin said at least 32 passengers and 34 of the 35-member crew were picked up by passing ships and navy rescue vessels.
Robert Liles, a coast guard officer near the site of the accident 300 miles southeast of Manila, said the bodies of 10 women, a man and a girl were recovered at sea.
Inter-island ferries are a main mode of transportation between the Philippines’ 7,000 islands.
In 1987, the Philippines suffered the world’s worst peacetime shipping disaster when the ferry Dona Paz collided with a tanker, killing 4,341 people.