Another giant ferry sinks in Philippines

The Superferry 9 that carrying 968 passengers sank in the southern Philippines early this morning, leaving at least nine dead and more than 30 missing. began to list before dawn about nine miles off Zamboanga del Norte province, rousing terrified passengers from their sleep and sending many jumping into the water.

926 passengers was transferred to two nearby commercial ships, a navy gunboat and a fishing boat. A massive search for 33 people who are still missing is underway. Officials hope they may have drifted off in their life jackets or could have been rescued but are not yet listed as survivors.

Sea accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago because of tropical storms, badly maintained boats and weak enforcement of safety regulations.

Last year, a ferry overturned after sailing toward a powerful typhoon in the central Philippines, killing more than 800 people on board. In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker in the Philippines, killing more than 4,341 people in the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster.






Read more at DailyMail.co.uk, 7 Sept 2009

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