Crowded Philippines ferry lifeboats swamped: survivor
Updated
Fears are growing for more than 800 people on board a ferry which has capsized in the central Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Fengshen.
Only four people are so-far known to have survived sinking of the MV Princess of Stars, with only four bodies found.
A survivor has told local radio that crowded life rafts sank in storm-tossed seas.
The bureau chief of Associated Press, Paul Alexander, told CNN the ship could have been caught-out in its long trip.
"This ship was built to hold up to 2,000 people, so it was far from overloaded, probably should not have sailed, but its about a 26 hour trip I think from Manila to Cebu so the weather conditions could have changed dramatically during that period," he said.
Some rescuers were able to reach the partially-submerged ferry Sunday night, but rough seas hampered a full search effort.
"They sent some frogmen in, and they could not actually get into the ship, but they used some metal utensils to tap on the hull and hope that if there's anybody alive inside that they would hear and respond," Mr Alexander said.
"But there was no response."
Relatives angry ship sailed
A relative of one of the ferry's passengers is angry that the ship had put to sea in such conditions.
"They should not have let the ship sail because there was a typhoon coming, how can they do that?" she said.
"They will not even give out information on what happened."
Meanwhile, the Red Cross estimates some 229 people have died across the country in floods and landslides caused by the storm.
