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A boat with more than 350 people on board sank early Monday near an island in the southern Philippines, killing at least 18 people, officials said. Rescuers saved hundreds more, while an array of coast guard and coastal vessels searched for those still missing.
The IM/V Trisha Kerstin 3, which is a cargo and passenger vessel, was leaving the port of Zamboanga and heading south to Jolo Island in Sulu province with 332 passengers and 27 crew members when it encountered technical problems and sank at midnight, security officials said.
The boat sank in good weather about a nautical kilometer from the island village of Baluk-baluk in Basilan province, said coast guard Cmdr. Romel Dua.
“There was a police officer on the coast, and he was the one who called us and warned us that rescue boats had been deployed,” said Dua, adding that the police officer survived.
Rescuers rescued at least 316 passengers and crew members removed 18 bodies, officials said. The coast guard and coastal vessels, as well as a surveillance aircraft, a Black Hawk helicopter and dozens of fishing boats conducted a search and rescue operation for about 22 people believed to be missing in Basilan, Dua said.
One of the rescued passengers, Mr. Mohamad Khan, said that the boat suddenly tilted to the side and took on water, throwing people including him and his wife, who was holding their six-month-old baby, into the sea. He and his wife survived, but their child drowned.
“My wife lost our child and we were all separated at sea,” a distraught Khan told volunteer lifeguard Gamar Alih, who posted a video of Khan’s words on Facebook.
As Khan recounted their ordeal, his wife wept.
The cause of the sinking is unclear
Alih, a Zamboanga village councilor, told The Associated Press that he volunteered to help in the search and rescue because some of his relatives were among the boat passengers. They all survived.
The coast guard and coastal vessels, as well as a patrol plane, a Black Hawk helicopter and dozens of fishing boats were conducting a search and rescue operation in Basilan, Dua said.
Basilan Governor Mujiv Hataman said many passengers and two bodies were brought to Isabela, the provincial capital, where he and ambulance vans were waiting.
“I received 37 people here in the lake. Unfortunately, two of them died,” said Hataman, speaking on a cell phone at the Isabela port.
The cause of the sinking of the boat was not yet clear, and there will be an investigation, Dua said, adding that the coast guard removed the boat before it left the port of Zamboanga, and there were no signs of overcrowding.
Maritime accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago due to frequent typhoons, poorly maintained vessels, overcrowding and stricter safety regulations, especially in remote provinces.
In December 1987, the Dona Paz sank after colliding with an oil tanker in the central Philippines, killing more than 4,300 people in the world’s deadliest peacetime maritime disaster.
