Search for Ferry Survivors Continues

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.

The passenger manifest lists 724 people, the youngest just 21 days old, and the oldest 89 years old. In addition, a crew of 137 was also on board the ship.

"I'm pretty hopeful because so far we've seen people drift 95 nautical miles from where the ship sank, and pretty much they survived," said Gordon.

Twenty-eight of the survivors were found together on a remote island.

"They have been telling stories," Red Cross manager Aida Beltejar said in an interview with ABC News. "They said they survived because they were all together on one boat, giving them the spirit to live," she said, "and they did it."

After the survivors received medical treatment at Cebu, the original destination of the ferry, they were transported to Red Cross headquarters in Manila today.

"My job is to help them with stress debriefings and connect them with their families," Beltejar said, adding that many of the survivors are traumatized after being in the water for almost 24 hours.

Originally a group of 30, one man was tossed off their raft after a large wave hit it. He had taken off his life vest when he saw land, thinking he was close enough to be safe. The other person remains missing.

Monday, 25 more people were found alive on another nearby island.

It is not confirmed if all of them are from the Princess of the Stars vessel, as eight other maritime incidents were reported within three days of the typhoon. Another 15 bodies were also found.

"There is a big problem regarding cadavers," said Coast Guard officer Jansen Benjamin, referring to the outer remote islands.

"There is no embalming medicine. The bodies are in a state of advanced decomposition and the smell is not so good."

The search continued for hundreds of people. "They are faces, not names," said Gordon who has not slept since Saturday.

The United States joined efforts this morning with the arrival of the USNS Stockham, with two search and rescue helicopters aboard. Two Navy P-3 surveillance aircraft have also been sent to help.

Although the focus now is on an extensive search and rescue operation, people have begun demanding answers to how this could have happened.

The Philippines, an archipelago where the majority of people rely on sea transport and fishing, is no stranger to typhoons. Fengshen was at the lowest level one when Princess of the Stars departed Manila.

"It's up to the discretion of the master" to travel at typhoon level one, says Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr.r Arman Balilo.

At level two and higher, the Coast Guard has the final say.

"This ship was indeed very large and could handle category typhoon signal number one, and that's allowed under the law," said Gordon. "So now the question is whether the captain or whether the crew was fit enough to handle that category."

Melinda Batiancila sits outside the shipping company office and claps a small piece of notebook paper.

On it is a list of 17 names and their cabin numbers -- they are all her relatives, including her own sister and daughter.

"It's our 25th family reunion," Batiancila said, adding that she had planned to follow her family to Cebu by airplane.

"We hope to see them, even if they are dead or alive."

The Associated Press contributed to the reporting of this story.