Philippines typhoon: picture gallery

More than 800 passengers and crew were feared dead last night after a ferry capsized and sank after being struck by a typhoon sweeping across the Philippines.

Relatives of the 845 people thought to have been on board the MV Princess of Stars endured a day of agony yesterday as navy rescue vessels struggled through vast waves towards the area where the 24,000-tonne ferry capsized.

Twenty-eight passengers and crew were reported to have been found late yesterday, after reaching a coastal village in a lifeboat. Only three other people were known to have reached land alive and at least four bodies had been discovered along nearby shores. On the beaches of Sibuyan island, a few kilometres from where the ship sank, the sea washed in a relentless tide of lifejackets, children’s shoes and other debris from the stricken ship.

As she was leaving on a scheduled visit to the US on Saturday, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the President of the Philippines, used a national radio broadcast to berate coastguards who allowed the Princess of Stars to put to sea on Friday night, despite warnings of an impending typhoon. She said from aboard the presidential flight: “I want answers.”

The typhoon also caused widespread misery on land. More than 155 people were thought to have perished as flash floods engulfed towns in the central Iloilo region and left entire areas stranded by what survivors described as “oceans” of floodwater.

Across the Philippines – including Manila, the capital – the winds and torrential rains of Typhoon Fengshen created havoc and misery for tens of thousands who were forced from their homes by floodwaters and landslides. Winds of 93 miles per hour (150km/h) tore roofs from houses, and many homes were feared to have been swept away by mudslides.

With weather conditions still ferocious, the true toll of Fengshen is expected to take some days to emerge. Nanette Tansingco, the mayor of one town on Sibuyan island, described massive destruction to homes, roads and infrastructure and appealed for medical supplies and stocks of embalming fluid as fears grew of a rapidly rising body count.

When rescuers finally reached the site where the Princess of Stars last made radio contact 24 hours previously, rescuers discovered only the bow still above water. They reported no immediate sign of any survivors, although rescuers believe some passengers may have floated to the island of Cresta de Gallo.

Four coastguard and three naval rescue ships were deployed in the search. The air force is expected to begin operations when weather allows.

The Princess of Stars is one of many thousands of ferries whose routes crisscross the Philippines archipelago and are essential to the daily life and economies of its many islands. The ferries are often old and in disrepair and are regularly crammed with far greater numbers of passengers than there is survival equipment on board.

The ferry ran aground near Sibuyan island en route from Manila to Cebu City. It issued a distress signal on Saturday but during its search for shelter the ship’s engines failed, leaving it at the mercy of the waves. Cecil Chen, a coastguard official, said: “The engine conked out and (with) the vessel dead on the water, no immediate assistance could be rendered. It suffered the consequence of drifting to the shallow portion and was grounded.”

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