Deaths in Philippines ferry accidents

Sunday, December 27, 2009

In two separate ferry incidents, more than 40 people are feared dead in the Philippines. The first accident on Thursday involved a wooden ferry near Limbones Island colliding with a large fishing boat, the Nathalia. 46 people were rescued, four confirmed dead. The BBC reports as many as 24 may still be missing from the incident.

The second incident occurred today, south of Manila at Batangas. The MV Baleno-9 capsized after listing and taking water, drowning three. At least twenty remain missing.

Commander Armand Balilo, a coastguard spokesman, said rescue operations are continuing. "Hopefully their [search] flights will not be fruitless and they may find a few more of the missing," he told a local radio station, "We always hope that there will be survivors."

The Philippines has a history of storms, lax safety enforcement, and aging boats, leading to common ferry accidents despite the island nation's heavy reliance on ferries for transportation.

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Sources

"Up to 25 feared dead in fresh Philippines ferry tragedy" — BBC News Online, December 27, 2009
"Ferry sinks off Philippines coast" — Al Jazeera, December 27, 2009
"Philippines sea tragedy leaves four dead and 23 missing" — BBC News Online, December 24, 2009

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Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.