Ferry Carrying 700 Crashes Into Cargo Ship

[mickmyrna]

A ferry with 700 passengers on board has collided with a cargo ship near the Philippine city of Cebu, according to the coastguard.

The coast guard said the MV Thomas Aquinas listed and began sinking after hitting the Sulpicio Express Seven Cargo vessel and the captain ordered the ship abandoned.

Officer Joy Villegas said the collision occurred on Friday evening close to the shore near the central city of Cebu. The ferry was travelling from Cebu to Manila.

She said at least 17 people were confirmed dead and around 525 rescued.

Two rescue vessels have been dispatched and other nearby boats were helping to pull passengers from the water.

There has been no official confirmation of casualties but passenger Jerwin Agudong told radio station DZBB people were trapped on the ferry and he had seen bodies in the water.

He said: "It seems some were not able to get out. I pity the children. We saw dead bodies on the side, and some being rescued."

Hundreds of passengers jumped into the ocean as the ship started to sink, according to survivors. Many of the passengers were asleep and others struggled to find their way in the dark.

Accidents at sea are common in the Philippine archipelago because of frequent storms, badly maintained boats and weak enforcement of safety regulations.

In 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker in the Philippines, killing 4,341 people in the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster.

In 2008, the ferry MV Princess of the Stars capsized during a typhoon, killing nearly 800 people.

[Ako Si Jamie]

The Philippines need to address this problem. OK, there's not much they can do when the weather intervenes but they should impose stricter regulations and carry out more safety checks. Any company breaching the rules should be dealt with accordingly.

R.I.P to those who died.

[Terpe]

I've done my fair share of ferry journeys around Philippines. I always feel uneasy.
I wear a life jacket at ALL times. If the ferry is big enough I'll stay on deck, if it's small I make sure I'm near an escape.

My advice would be to avoid them at all costs if possible.

Very sad news that.

[tiger31]

its going to be alot more than 17 deaths it went down in 10 minutes in complete darkness and there were 55 kids on board so sad

[grahamw48]

How awful. Those poor souls. RIP to those who died.

It does happen too often. Another good reason for teaching your kids how to swim as early in life as possible.

[bigmarco]

Never travelled on one but have heard the stories.
Sad story and RIP to the dead.

[jake]

This is tragic. My condolences to the bereaved families.
More often than not the victims of these type of tragedies are woman and children.

My wife went on a 2GO Supercat vessel last week to Mindoro and she commented that it was the most modern boat she had been on in the Philippines.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug_RFOQsLKU

[RickyR]

I personally wouldn't go near a ferry in the Philippines...

[tiger31]

look at the size of that thing plus the cargo ship was even bigger how could 2 captains not see each other ? the ferry would have only been doing a few knots as it was on its approach to the dock and I believe the cargo ship would be travelling a bit faster as it was outbound ,something must have gone badly wrong.there are still 200 plus still missing at the moment.

[RickyR]

Apparently the Master if the ferry negotiated a different routing/passing arrangement prior to the accident, it is quite possible that it caused confusion. In narrow channels and close proximity and with limited manoeuvrability a small mistake can become catastrophic.

[mendoza82]

Makes me feel scared, coz im goin home in cebu this cominh friday with 2go vessel, I chose to go with ship becoz I have lot of stuff to bring..
Condolence to all the victims..

[Rosie1958]

Such a terrible tragedy .......... rest in peace.

Mendoza82, please do try not to worry too much, I am sure that extra safety precautions will be in place. I flew to New York soon after the 911 tragedy, I was scared too but did it anyway and afterwards I was glad I had the strength of courage to do so. You'll be fine :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[Michael Parnham]

What a tragic accident, We used to use the small Delta ferry three or four times a week from Dumaguete to Siquijor and return, And I always used to think will these Delta ferries ever arrive because the condition of them was shocking, in the UK they would have been banned and scrapped years ago. The people of the Philippines should not have to put up with transport infrastructure that they have, the transport in general including airlines never seem to follow up preventive maintenance schedules. Whilst I was living in Philippines, the engine cowling disappeared on a flight from Manila to Dumaguete with PAL and when it arrived at Dumaguete about twenty airport staff went to have a look at it and I don't know what they were saying but there was a lot of laughing and joking going on, I didn't find it funny at all I was just pleased that all the other passengers and myself arrived safely!

[cheekee]

So sad this has happened.

I was riding past the area in Cebu it happened just a month ago :(

[robbie bobby]

My wife and her family were on that exact boat going to a funeral a few weeks ago.I booked the effin thing.Scary as hell.

That's it no more boats for sure.Cant trust zest air either now unfortunately coz they got the licence sequestered for safety issues.
:icon_eek:
The choices of operators are getting slimmer.Im shocked and saddened by this.

[Ako Si Jamie]

You're right Robby

http://www.rappler.com/business/industries/171-aviation-tourism/36650-refund-or-flight-transfer-for-zest-air-passengers

Flew with them from Tagbilaran in March too :cwm24:

[robbie bobby]

You're right Robby

http://www.rappler.com/business/industries/171-aviation-tourism/36650-refund-or-flight-transfer-for-zest-air-passengers

Flew with them from Tagbilaran in March too :cwm24:

ITS AMAZING THE STUFF WE DONT KNOW UNTIL A SAFETY WATCHDOG TELLS US WHATS GOING ON!IM JUST GLAD THEY CAUGHT ZESTAIR BEFORE PASSENGERS BECAME STATISICS.GOOD ON CAAP WELL DONE:xxgrinning--00xx3::xxgrinning--00xx3::appl:

[Ako Si Jamie]

ITS AMAZING THE STUFF WE DONT KNOW UNTIL A SAFETY WATCHDOG TELLS US WHATS GOING ON!IM JUST GLAD THEY CAUGHT ZESTAIR BEFORE PASSENGERS BECAME STATISICS.GOOD ON CAAP WELL DONE:xxgrinning--00xx3::xxgrinning--00xx3::appl:
Bad for business but no doubt they'll change their name once they get back in the air and all will be forgotten. :cwm25:

[robbie bobby]

Bad for business but no doubt they'll change their name once they get back in the air and all will be forgotten. :cwm25:

Bet Air Asia are not too happy about being in affiliated with them at the moment hehe.

[Ako Si Jamie]

Bet Air Asia are not too happy about being in affiliated with them at the moment hehe.:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[mendoza82]

Such a terrible tragedy .......... rest in peace.

Mendoza82, please do try not to worry too much, I am sure that extra safety precautions will be in place. I flew to New York soon after the 911 tragedy, I was scared too but did it anyway and afterwards I was glad I had the strength of courage to do so. You'll be fine :xxgrinning--00xx3:thanks miss rosie, my sched has been cancelled.so im looking for available flight for my target date to come home..:smile:

[Ako Si Jamie]

ITN can't even pronounce Cebu properly. Key-boo? :Erm:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U2VSNfSN0M