Ferry carrying over 350 people sank in Philippines, 15 dead and 316 rescued

A ferry with more than 350 people on board sank early on Monday near an island in the southern Philippines. Rescuers have saved at least 316 passengers and retrieved 15 bodies, officials said.

The M/V Trisha Kerstin 3, an inter-island cargo and passenger ferry, was sailing from the port city of Zamboanga to southern Jolo island in Sulu province with 332 passengers and 27 crew members when it apparently encountered technical problems and sank after midnight, coast guard officials said.

The ferry sank in good weather about a nautical mile (nearly 2 kilometres)



from the island village of Baluk-baluk in Basilan province, said coast guard Commander Romel Dua.

“There was a coast guard safety officer on board, and he was the first to call and alert us to deploy rescue vessels,” Dua said, adding that the safety officer survived.

One of the rescued passengers, Mohamad Khan, said that the ferry abruptly tilted to one side and took on water, hurling people, including him and his wife, who was holding their 6-month-old baby, into the sea in the darkness. He and his wife were rescued, but their baby drowned.