At least 36 dead after ferry capsizes in Philippines

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[h=4]At least 36 dead after ferry capsizes in Philippines[/h]At least 36 people died Thursday after a ferry with 189 passengers and crew aboard capsized in the Philippines, officials said.

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Dozens of people are dead after a ferry capsized in the Philippines. Coast Guard personnel rushed to rescue over 100 people but fear others may still be trapped inside the boat. USA TODAY


A survivor of a passenger ferry that capsized in rough waters cries after arriving at the pier in Ormoc City, central Philippines on July 2, 2015.(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)


At least 36 people died Thursday after a ferry with 189 passengers and crew aboard capsized in the Philippines, officials said.
The Philippine Star said the M/B Kim Nirvana overturned soon after midday local time, shortly after leaving the central port of Ormoc City on the island of Leyte. It was headed for Camotes Island on the island province of Cebu, about 27 miles to the south.
Coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo said the wooden outrigger ferry was lashed by strong waves, the Associated Press reported. It wasn't immediately clear what caused the vessel to overturn.
"There wasn't any storm or any gale. We're trying to find out (why it happened)," Balilo told AFP.
At least 127 passengers were rescued by nearby fishing boats and coast guard personnel or swam to safety off Ormoc, and at least 26 people were missing, the AP said. Balilo said the captain and some of the crew were rescued and are in custody pending an investigation.
Balilo told AFP that the ferry's outriggers appeared to have broken in the accident, and said that it was possible the crew had committed a navigational error.
Ciriaco Tolibao from Ormoc's disaster risk reduction and management office told the agency that divers were searching for survivors. "We're scouring the ship for more survivors who may be trapped inside the hull," he said. "We hope to finish the rescue before dark and before it starts to rain."
He said many of the passengers were traders taking farm produce and other items to the Camotes, AFP said.
Mary Jane Drake, who was traveling with her mother and American husband, told the AP that the ferry was pulling slowly out of the port when it suddenly flipped to the left in strong waves and overturned. She said that she, her mother and husband swam to safety from underneath the vessel.
"No one was able to jump out because it overturned very swiftly," she said. "There was no time to jump."
Her husband, Lawrence Drake, 48, a retired firefighter from Rochester, N.Y., added that he ran to one side of the boat to try to balance it.
"I jumped out of my seat and ran to the front as far as I could, and tried to lean over," he said. "I am a big guy, and tried to push the boat back over but it was way too late."
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