Search for Ferry Survivors Continues
Days later, desperate families wait to hear news of their loved ones.
MANILA, Philippines, June 24, 2008 — -- Three days after a Philippine ferry with more than 800 people onboard capsized during a powerful typhoon, divers finally got inside the now upside-down ship.
They found no survivors, only bodies, the Philippine Navy announced today.
But rescuers are still trying to find survivors who may have drifted to safety on nearby islands.
Divers wriggled into the upside-down MV Princess of the Stars Tuesday and found bodies, including what appeared to be one of the ship's officers still clutching a radio, Coast Guard Commodore Luis Tuason said, adding that two bodies had been retrieved.
The Philippine Navy and Coast Guard are trying to find ways to enter all the compartments of the 24,000 ton ship.
Officials had hoped that hundreds of people may have been trapped when the ship suddenly tilted and went belly up Saturday at the height of the powerful Typhoon Fengshen that left 163 people dead in flooded communities in the central Philippines.
"If they can get out, they may make it. But if they got trapped inside and were pinned down, they may not make it," Enrico Detiquez told ABC News as he held up photos of his wife and son who were both aboard the vessel.
Family and friends, weary from waiting for news of their loved ones, sit on the steps outside the office of the shipping company, Sulpicio Lines Inc. A stall set up outside the office offers relatives free cell phone calls.
The last contact with the ship was at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
"The master was saying they were aground. After that, the communication was cut off," said Sally Buaron, vice president of passenger service of Sulpicio Lines. "They were starting to tilt," she added.
Relatives in Manila wait for information about their loved ones. A stall set up outside the Sulpicio Lines office offers free cell phone calls.
"There will be orphans who will be in need of assistance, there will be widows," senator and national Red Cross director Richard Gordon told ABC News. "There will be all sorts of people who need economic support to start all over again."
Nearby, a large yellow sign posts the names of 32 survivors in black marker. Twelve people are officially confirmed dead.
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