Govt begins inquiry into ferry disaster

SAN FERNANDO, Philippines: Philippine investigators began an inquiry yesterday into a ferry disaster feared to have killed nearly 800 people as rescuers said there was little hope of finding survivors.

More than 100 US and Filipino divers combed the wreckage of the 24,000-tonne Princess of the Stars, whose upturned bow jutted above waters off the central island of Sibuyan after it capsized in a typhoon on Saturday.

“There are no signs of life,” said navy spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Edgard Arevalo, adding that at least 60 bodies were retrieved at or around Burias island yesterday.

The latest recovery of bodies brings the number of bodies found from the ship to at least 127, according to a count by the navy, meaning some 660 of the more than 850 people on board remain unaccounted for.

Rescuers said those who had survived in air pockets in the ship would have suffocated by now.

Only 57 people made it out alive, according to civil defence figures, making it one of the worst maritime disasters in the Southeast Asian country’s history.

At the first hearing of the board of inquiry, Edgar Go, vice-president of ferry operator Sulpicio Lines, said the coast guard had cleared the ship to sail.

Sulpicio Lines lawyer Arthur Lim also cited rules issued in 1998 saying that the coast guard had the responsibility of plotting storm routes and issuing these to shipping companies for guidance.

However, the head of the inquiry board, Rear Admiral Ramon Liwag, said new guidelines were issued in 2007, repealing the 1998 guidelines cited by Sulpicio officials.

The new guidelines say “the ship captain is given the responsibility to (decide) whether to leave port or not,” Liwag said.

Sulpicio officials said they had not received the 2007 guidelines. The next hearing was set for tomorrow.
The board of marine inquiry is a fact-finding investigation and information gathered at the hearings could be used for criminal prosecution, officials said.

The coast guard also temporarily removed the district commander of Manila, Commander Erwin Balagas, who had authority over the ferry when it sailed from the capital.

Coast guard officials said this was standard procedure and did not mean that Balagas was being blamed for the tragedy.
President Gloria Arroyo, in a statement from Washington where she is on an official visit, said: “We are holding the ferry company accountable.”

She said the inquiry will try to determine how the tragedy occurred “so we can take steps to make sure it never happens again.”

Lieutenant Commander Rogelio Villanueva told disaster relief officials in Manila that the divers were hoping to go deeper into the ship’s submerged dining hall and other compartments, where they had seen many bloated bodies.
Navy ships and helicopter scoured coastal areas as the recovery effort was stepped up.

“We are racing against time to save lives and retrieve bodies as soon as possible before they reach an advanced state of decomposition,” Villanueva said.

US divers joined the grim search for the bloated bodies of men, women and children who were on the 22-hour trip from Manila to central Cebu when Typhoon Fengshen struck.

With poor visibility and strong undercurrents hampering the operation, officials appealed for more equipment from abroad as well as relief goods for survivors of the typhoon, which left another 600 dead or missing in the country.
Arroyo secured a pledge from US counterpart George W Bush to send an aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, and other naval assets to help.

“I expressed to President Arroyo our deep condolences to those who suffered as a result of the typhoon. We, the American people, care about the human suffering that’s taking place, and we want to help our friends in a time of need,” the US embassy quoted Bush as telling Arroyo.

The Japanese government said it would also send relief supplies to victims.

Meanwhile, relatives streamed into the offices of Sulpicio Lines demanding to know the fate of their loved ones.
Many were inconsolable, but there have also been tearful reunions for the lucky few who survived.