The steel-hulled ferry might accommodate as much as 430 individuals and was not overcrowded, stated one other coast guard official, Commodore Rejard Marfe.
In line with the manifest, it was carrying 205 passengers and a 35-member crew, Marfe stated. As well as, it had a safety contingent consisting of 4 coast guard marshals, who all survived, and eight troopers.
Threats posed by Muslim insurgents, together with these aligned with the Islamic State group, stay a safety challenge within the southern Philippines, the place cargo and passenger ships are supplied further safety by the coast guard and different regulation enforcement businesses in susceptible areas.
Marfe stated officers are investigating whether or not the 33-year-old ferry was seaworthy, if there have been passengers not listed on the manifest, and whether or not the crew correctly guided passengers to security.
Sea accidents are frequent within the Philippines due to frequent storms, badly maintained vessels, overcrowding and spotty enforcement of security rules, particularly in distant provinces.
In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a gasoline tanker, killing greater than 4,300 individuals on this planet’s worst peacetime maritime catastrophe.
This text was initially printed by channelnewsasia.com. Learn the unique article right here.
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