Ferry carrying 173 people capsizes 03:14
Story highlights
- Navy divers search for missing people, may carry out night dives, spokesman says
- There were 173 passengers, 15 crew and boat's owner on board, Philippine Red Cross says
- The Red Cross says 35 people are missing after the boat capsized near shore
(CNN)A boat carrying 189 people has capsized in the central Philippines, minutes after leaving port, the Philippine Red Cross said Thursday.
The
local coast guard reported that at least 36 people have died, with 118
survivors, and another 19 still missing, according to CNN Philippines.
The coast guard said there were 173 people on board.
Philippine
Red Cross Chairman Gordon told CNN from Manila that the boat had 189 on
board, with 173 passengers, 15 crew and the boat's owner, who he said
had survived. Gordon put the number of missing at 35. The boat could
accommodate up to 193 people.
The MB
Nirvana had just departed Ormoc City in Leyte province bound for the
town of Pilar on Camotes Island, east of Cebu Island, about noon local
time when the disaster occurred.
The
boat, which is 27 meters (89 feet) long, was barely 200 meters (more
than 650 feet) from the shore when it capsized, Philippine coast guard
Lt. Christopher Ganet said.
He said those who have been rescued are being taken to hospitals in the area around Ormoc.
High winds, seas hamper efforts
Ferry capsizes in the Philippines 04:44
Video
footage from the scene showed people of all ages, including a small
child, being brought ashore in small inflatable craft. Some survivors
were laid on the concrete waterfront, while others were wheeled away on
stretchers.
Rescue workers were battling to find those unaccounted for before it gets dark.
Lt. James Reyes, a Philippine navy spokesman, said navy divers were helping in the search and rescue efforts.
They
have underwater flashlights and other equipment to enable night diving,
he said, and will try to carry out dives if the water conditions allow.
Gordon said Red Cross staff was on the pier in Ormoc with blankets and meals to assist those who made it back to shore.
Officials
are trying to get divers to the scene, he said, and had hoped to put a
helicopter in the air but have been prevented by "zero visibility" in
poor weather conditions.
"The winds are really bad, and the seas are really bad," he said.
Investigators will examine what caused the boat to capsize.
A
CNN Philippines reporter quoted the coast guard as saying the boat had
left port too quickly and people stood up, throwing the boat off
balance. Gordon said he understood the boat overturned because of high
winds.
It's monsoon season in the Philippines, which adds to the likelihood of poor weather.
Gordon: Passengers were 'poor folks, simple folks'
Red Cross: At least 36 killed in ferry accident 04:10
Gwendolyn
Pang, secretary-general of the Philippine Red Cross in Manila,
described the vessel as a commercial "pump boat" or banka, which is
essentially a canoe-style craft with outriggers powered by a small
engine. They're widely used across the Philippines for transporting
people and goods as well as for fishing.
Gordon said the boat would operate three times a day on the route from Ormoc to Camotes Island.
"The passengers would have been farmers or fishermen, or ordinary businessmen -- common folks," he said.
"They
are not very well off, otherwise they would be on better vessels or
take the plane. But obviously, these are poor folks, simple folks who
are trying to eke out an existence."
This
style of outrigger boat has no cabins, he said, which should make it
easier for divers to find anyone trapped under the canopy or keel of the
vessel.
Gordon said that he doubted
any foreigners were involved but that Red Cross staff at the scene was
checking who was on board and how many were children. Officials have
also brought body bags in case they are needed, he said.
Many may not even be able to afford a proper burial, he added.
Hospitals take in survivors, bodies
Dr.
Rolando Tomaro, medical director of Ormoc Doctors' Hospital, told CNN
that four hospitals in the Ormoc area were receiving people caught up in
the disaster.
At the Ormoc Doctors'
Hospital, 21 survivors and 16 bodies had been brought in, he said. The
dead included an 8-month-old child and his 13-year-old brother, he said.
Ten survivors remain in the hospital under observation, he said, but none are in a critical condition.
"We
have to monitor them for signs of respiratory distress because of the
near-drowning incident," he said. "They would have ingested seawater, so
we are monitoring them. As of now, they are all stable."
Tomaro, who has been a surgeon at the hospital for 20 years, said it was the first time anything like this had occurred.