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Sibuyan Island: Rough seas late on Monday stopped rescue efforts to find nearly 800 people missing from a capsized ferry in the Philippines.
Many passengers were feared trapped inside the Princess of Stars after survivors said people were still onboard when the ship sank off Sibuyan during Saturday’s typhoon.
Officials held little hope of finding people alive in air pockets on the ferry. "We feel there is no life inside," said navy spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Edgard Arevalo.
The coast guard said that divers on Tuesday would cut open the vessel, which was resting upside down with just the tip of its bow above water.
Meanwhile, 20 new survivors and 15 bodies were found close to Masbate island, near the site where the ship sank. Nine male corpses washed ashore on the island on Monday.
"The bodies were bloated and decomposing. What we did was just to wrap them up and buried them right away," a local mayor told radio.
Twenty-eight passengers and crew from the passenger ferry survived after drifting for more than 24 hours in a rubber boat.
Jessie Buot swam for his life in a life vest and made it to Sibuyan island. "I tried to be brave because I knew if I had succumbed to my fears, I would have died," he said.
So far, over 50 people have been found alive and 20 reported dead out of 864 passengers and crew on board.
Typhoon Fengshen hit central and southern Philippines at the weekend, leaving at least 155 people dead, largely by drowning in floods, and causing $38 million in damages.
Do you know anyone who has been affected by the typhoon? Were they able to get in touch with their loved ones back home? Send us your stories at letter2editor@gulfnews.com.
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