Ferry carrying 300 passengers sinks, killing 18

A ferry carrying more than 350 passengers and crew sank off the southern coast of the Philippines, killing at least 18 people.

According to the Philippine Coast Guard, search and rescue personnel have rescued 317 people on the MV Trisha Kerstin 3, but at least 24 people are still missing.

The ship, a cargo and passenger ferry, was en route from the southern island of Mindanao to Jolo when it sent a distress call at 1:50 local time on Monday (1750 GMT on Sunday).

Authorities said they were investigating the cause of the sinking. The Philippines is an archipelago country with 7,100 islands and has a long history of shipwrecks on interisland ferries.

“According to some survivors, the waters in the area were rough at the time,” Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Noemie Cayabyab said in a television interview, according to Agence France-Presse.

A video shared by the Disaster Management Office of the southwestern city of Bangao showed people wearing life jackets floating in the water waiting for rescuers.

Another Facebook video publisher Basilan Governor Mujiv Hataman showed survivors wrapped in blankets stepping off a rescue boat.

Basilan emergency worker Ronalyn Perez told AFP that rescuers were overwhelmed by the influx of survivors.

“The real challenge is the number of patients coming in. We’re currently understaffed,” Perez said.

Another rescue worker said their office had received more than 100 calls from family members, AFP reported.

Past ferry accidents in the Philippines have been blamed on poor maintenance and overloading. Despite this, many Filipinos still travel by ferry due to its low cost.

In May 2023, a passenger ship caught fire, killing 28 people. The death toll included three children, including a six-month-old baby.

The previous year, a fire broke out on a high-speed ferry carrying 134 people, killing at least seven people.