By Carlos H. Conde
Published: December 15, 2008
International Herald Tribune
MANILA: At least 23 people died and an additional 33 were missing after an overloaded passenger ferry capsized off a northern Philippine province, the coast guard said Monday.
The authorities said they had recovered 23 victims who had drowned after huge waves overturned the Maejan, an interisland ferry carrying 102 passengers, just 50 meters, or 165 feet, off the shoreline of Cagayan Province north of Manila on Sunday morning. Most of the survivors managed to swim to shore.
Officials said the area of the tragedy is known for its big waves and strong current. The Associated Press quoted Joseph Llopis, the mayor of Calayan Island, the origin of the ferry, as saying that hours before the ferry capsized, “three children fell into the sea as the vessel was lashed by huge waves.” One of the dead was a 1-year-old child.
Llopis said many of the victims were traveling to the mainland to buy food for Christmas. “There’ll be no festive mood. Many of the dead were breadwinners,” Llopis said, according to The Associated Press.
The coast guard, in a statement, said the Maejan was buffeted by “big waves and strong current until it was dragged and capsized.” The local police said that the ferry was entering the mouth of the Cagayan River when it capsized. Rescue boats and small planes had been dispatched to look for survivors.
Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo, chief of the Philippine Coast Guard, said the Maejan was authorized to carry only 50 passengers and that, according to him, criminal charges would be filed against its owners for overloading the ferry.
Accidents at sea are common in the Philippines, particularly toward the end of the year, when the monsoon season peaks.
Last month, a passenger ferry capsized in the central Philippines after being struck by strong winds. More than 40 people were killed.
In June, the Princess of the Stars, a passenger ship with 850 passengers and crew, sank in the central Philippines after being lashed by Typhoon Fengshen. Only 57 people survived; the authorities are still trying to recover bodies.
The world’s worst sea disaster since World War II occurred also in the central Philippines, in December 1987, when the passenger ship Dona Paz collided with an oil tanker, killing more than 4,300 people.
Apart from negligence and the unsafe state of many passenger vessels, storms and typhoons play a crucial role in these tragedies. About 20 storms and typhoons batter the Philippines every year.
On Monday, officials said a tropical storm was nearing the country and threatens to turn into a typhoon in the following days.
