Hundreds rescued from deadly ferry disaster in Philippines

At least 15 people have died after a ferry carrying more than 350 passengers sank off the southern Philippines early Monday morning, according to coast guard officials. Rescuers have saved 316 people in an ongoing operation that has mobilized multiple maritime and air assets.

The M/V Trisha Kerstin 3, an inter-island cargo and passenger ferry, was traveling from Zamboanga City to Jolo island in Sulu province when it sank around midnight. The vessel was carrying 332 passengers and 27 crew members when it encountered what officials described as technical problems approximately one nautical mile (nearly 2 kilometers) from Baluk-baluk, a small island village in Basilan province.

“There was a coast guard safety officer on board and he was the first to call and alert us to deploy rescue vessels,” said Coast Guard Commander Romel Dua, who confirmed the safety officer survived the incident.

Survivors described a sudden crisis that left passengers with little time to react. Mohamad Khan, one of those rescued, recounted how the ferry abruptly tilted to one side and rapidly took on water, throwing him, his wife, and their 6-month-old baby into the sea in darkness.

“My wife lost hold of our baby and all of us got separated at sea,” Khan told volunteer rescuer Gamar Alih in an emotional video posted to social media. While Khan and his wife were rescued, their infant tragically drowned in the accident.

Alih, a village councilor from Zamboanga City who joined the rescue efforts because his own relatives were aboard the ferry, confirmed to The Associated Press that his family members survived the disaster.

A comprehensive search and rescue operation continues, involving coast guard and navy vessels, a surveillance plane, an air force Black Hawk helicopter, and numerous local fishing boats. The response highlights the significant resources being deployed to the maritime emergency.

Basilan Governor Mujiv Hataman has been personally coordinating reception efforts at the pier in Isabela, the provincial capital, where many survivors and victims have been brought.

“I’m receiving 37 people here in the pier. Unfortunately two are dead,” Hataman told reporters via phone from the scene, where ambulances stood ready to transport injured survivors to medical facilities.

Commander Dua indicated that the cause of the sinking remains unclear and will be subject to a formal investigation. He emphasized that the coast guard had inspected and cleared the ferry before its departure from Zamboanga port and that there was no immediate indication of overcrowding, which has been a factor in previous maritime disasters in the region.

The Philippines’ geography as an archipelago of over 7,000 islands makes ferry travel essential for transportation between islands, but the country has experienced numerous maritime accidents over the decades. Safety experts attribute these incidents to multiple factors including severe weather conditions, inadequate vessel maintenance, overcrowding, and inconsistent enforcement of maritime safety regulations, particularly in more remote provinces.

The incident recalls the Philippines’ tragic maritime history, which includes the 1987 Doña Paz disaster, when a ferry collided with an oil tanker in the central Philippines, killing more than 4,300 people. That accident remains the world’s deadliest peacetime maritime disaster.

As rescue operations continue off Basilan’s coast, authorities are focused on accounting for all passengers and crew while preparing for the investigation that will determine what caused this latest tragedy in Philippine waters.

The area where the ferry sank typically experiences relatively calm seas during January, raising additional questions about the technical problems that may have contributed to the vessel’s rapid sinking despite favorable weather conditions.