Zamboanga City, Philippines – A ferry with more than 350 people onboard sank Monday morning in the southern Philippines, leaving at least 15 dead and 28 still missing, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.
The MV Trisha Kerstin 3 issued a distress signal around 1:50 am (1750 GMT Sunday), a bit over four hours after it departed the Port of Zamboanga City on the southwestern tip of Mindanao, the PCG said in a statement.
At least 316 people had so far been rescued, Romel Dua, a coast guard commander, told AFP, with 15 confirmed dead and 28 still unaccounted for.
The ferry went down about five kilometers east of Baluk-Baluk Island, part of the Basilan province chain of islands off the Zamboanga peninsula.
Basilan emergency responder Ronalyn Perez told AFP rescuers were struggling to handle the sudden influx of survivors. “The challenge really is the number of patients that are coming in. We are short-staffed at the moment,” Perez said, adding at least 18 had been brought to one local hospital.
“The ferry was sailing from Zamboanga City to Jolo island when the incident happened,” she added.
