Desperate bid to find Philippine ferry survivors
Updated
![The ferry, claimed by Typhoon Fengshen, is resting upside down off the central island of Sibuyan, with the tip of its bow above water. [Reuters]](http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/img/news/gallery/phils_ferry_rtr_230608.jpg "The ferry, claimed by Typhoon Fengshen, is resting upside down off the central island of Sibuyan, with the tip of its bow above water. [Reuters]")
The ferry, claimed by Typhoon Fengshen, is resting upside down off the central island of Sibuyan, with the tip of its bow above water. [Reuters]
Philippine rescue teams have battled furious seas and high winds in a desperate hunt for more survivors from a ferry that sank in a typhoon with 862 people aboard.
Large swells have prevented navy divers from drilling holes into the vessel to locate anyone who may have found an air pocket in the hull and is still alive.
The ship is resting upside down, off the central island of Sibuyan, with the tip of its bow above water and its stern resting on the bottom of the sea, easily visible from shore.
The coast guard says divers will cut open the 23,824 tonne vessel on Tuesday.
So far only 33 people have been found alive, although there is some hope more will be found on the many tiny islands nearby.
Several bodies have washed up along shorelines along with children's shoes, heightening fears of a high death toll.
Anxious relatives are at the ferry firm's Manila offices waiting for news - and answers.
Taskforce to look into cause
It is the company's fourth disaster at sea in the past two decades but despite a government order banning Sulpicio Lines from operating its 22 vessels, the company continues to sell tickets.
The company has been officially blamed for the weekend tragedy while it has maintained that the ferry was "seaworthy."
The government has also set up a task force to look into the cause of the accident, while anti-corruption campaigners threaten a class action against the company, saying it should lose its operating licence.
The Princess of the Stars had been allowed to sail despite Typhoon Fengshen bearing down because, under current Philippine law, the vessel was deemed large enough to stay afloat in the periphery of the storm.
But the typhoon tragically made a sudden change of direction from north to west, and headed directly into the ferry's path.
The powerful storm has also killed almost 230 people on land.
The captain tried to get the vessel to safe harbour, but it ran aground.
The 24,000-tonne ship issued a distress signal on Saturday from near Sibuyan, about 150 kilometres south of Manila.
One survivor says there was almost no time to react.
"It seemed like everything happened in 15 minutes," Reynato Lanorio, one of the crew, said.
"Next thing we knew, the ship had gone under."
