Ferry with over 350 people sank in the southern Philippines, several dead

(Patria) - A ferry with more than 350 people sank in the southern Philippines after midnight, and rescuers saved at least 215 passengers and recovered seven bodies, officials said on Monday, reported AP.

The M/V Trisha Kerstin 3, an inter-island cargo and passenger ferry, was sailing to the southern island of Jolo in Sulu province from the port city of Zamboanga with 332 passengers and 27 crew members when it apparently encountered technical problems and sank, coast guard officials said.

Mujiv Hataman, governor of the island province of Basilan near where the ferry capsized, told AP that passengers and two bodies were brought to Isabela, the provincial capital.
"I am receiving 37 people here at the pier. Unfortunately, two are dead," Hataman said from the Isabela pier.

The search and rescue operation was conducted in good weather off Basilan province, involving the Philippine coast guard and navy, along with a fleet of fishing boats and a coast guard surveillance plane, officials said.

Maritime accidents are frequent in the Philippines due to frequent storms, poorly maintained ships, overcrowding, and weak enforcement of safety regulations.

In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,300 people in the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster.