Death toll in Basilan ferry sinking now 64

RETRIEVAL Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel prepare to haul a cadaver recovered from the sunken MV Trisha Kerstin 3 in the waters off Baluk-Baluk Island in Basilan province on Tuesday. —PCG PHOTO

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Wednesday said its technical divers recovered two more bodies during underwater search operations for the sunken MV Trisha Kerstin 3 in Basilan province, bringing the death toll to 64.

The latest recoveries were made during operations at the site of the maritime incident off Baluk-Baluk Island in Hadji Muhtamad town, Basilan.

The PCG noted that the casualty figures were validated through joint efforts among the Philippine National Police’s regional forensic laboratory in Zamboanga City, the local disaster risk reduction and management office, Coast Guard District Southwestern Mindanao, and the victims’ families, who have been coordinating daily with search and rescue teams.

More than three weeks into the tragedy, search operations continue for missing passengers and crew of the Sulu-bound vessel.

The roll-on, roll-off passenger ferry, operated by Aleson Shipping Lines, sank on Jan. 26 while traveling from Zamboanga City to Jolo, Sulu. The vessel’s manifest indicated that it was carrying 332 passengers and 27 crew.

293 survivors

From its original declaration of 316, the PCG said it had adjusted its count of survivors to 293, while 15 others remained missing as of Wednesday.

On Tuesday, PCG divers recovered four cadavers from the sunken ferry. One of those was Alberto Ramos, presiding judge of a Shariah Circuit Court in Jolo, the other was identified as Arnasher Jainatul. The two other bodies had yet to be identified.

As of Wednesday, about seven cadavers were still awaiting identification, based on information from the Basilan provincial disaster risk reduction and management office.

The PCG and local search teams had vowed to continue scouring the waters off Basilan for the remains of the vessel’s passengers and crew.

Preliminary findings of a Department of Transportation investigation found culpability among personnel of the PCG and Maritime Industry Authority in Zamboanga City, and Aleson, recommending that they face administrative charges.