US relief effort in typhoon-hit Philippines
Updated
American soldiers are taking water, rice and medicine to typhoon-hit islands in the central Philippines, as the search for hundreds of bodies from a capsized ferry continues.
Helicopters from the USS Ronald Reagan are helping relief efforts.
They are transporting supplies and scouring the seas around the Princess of the Stars, which sank with 865 people on board during Typhoon Fengshen on Saturday.
Authorities say the overall death toll from the sixth typhoon to hit the Philippines this storm season could top 1300, while over 1.4 million people have been forced to evacuate their homes and are reliant on handouts to survive.
Rescue efforts have been focused on the Princess of the Stars off central Sibuyan island.
US and Philippine navy divers have been combing the seven-storey vessel, where hundreds of corpses are feared trapped.
