‘MV Princess of the Stars’ salvage firm fails to meet deadline

MANILA, Philippines - A salvage firm retrieving bodies from the capsized MV Princess of the Stars admitted it will no longer be able to meet its Thursday deadline to retrieve all the remaining passengers trapped inside the vessel.

Radio dzBB's Teresa Tavares reported that Harbor Star officials said they still need to scour Deck A of the ill-fated vessel on Friday, a day after the deadline lapses.

The firm said debris got in the way of divers looking for remains to retrieve.

More than 500 passengers remain trapped in the vessel, which capsized off Romblon last June 21 at the height of Typhoon Frank.

As of Thursday noon, the report said the remains of 165 passengers had been retrieved.