Time Ticking For Philippine Ferry Rescuers

More Than 800 People Missing After Typhoon Flips Boat; Bodies Washing Up On Shore

(CBS/AP)  Ritchie Tayongtong's husband refused to let her give up when she fell and hit a railing as the ferry lurched to one side in the howling typhoon. He coached her not to panic and gave the order to jump as the sea rose up to swallow them.

But when she was pulled aboard a life raft, the man she called "Love" was nowhere to be seen, becoming one of the 800 people missing since the vessel capsized Saturday during the height of a storm that left 163 people dead in flooded communities in the central Philippines.

The government declared a state of calamity in three entire provinces - Albay, Antique and Iloilo - along with three towns in two other provinces.

Hopes were rapidly fading Monday for more ferry survivors as powerful waves limited rescue efforts to planning strategy for the best way to get inside if the weather clears Wednesday.

Huge waves have prevented divers from conducting an underwater search and rescue. Meanwhile, Typhoon Fengshen is out of the Philippines and is heading towards southern China, CBS reporter Barnaby Lo says.

Divers heard no response Sunday when they hammered on the tip of the 23,824-ton Princess of Stars that was still jutting from the water off Sibuyan island in the central Philippines, but officials refused to give up.

"We're not ruling out that somebody there is still alive," coast guard chief Adm. Wilfredo Tamayo said. "You can never tell."

Officials were pinning their hopes on two teams of military divers being able to find an underwater opening Tuesday.

"We'll do this at the earliest opportunity, weather permitting," Tamayo said.

Experts also were studying the ferry's layout in case they have to drill an access hole, a prospect complicated by a cargo of bunker oil on the ferry that quickly could turn the human disaster into an environmental one if it starts leaking.

A U.S. Navy ship carrying search-and-rescue helicopters was expected to arrive from Okinawa late Monday, and a P-3 maritime surveillance plane also was being dispatched.

Only 38 wave-battered survivors from the ferry have been found so far, including 28 who drifted at sea for more than 24 hours, first in a life raft, then in life jackets, before they were found Sunday about 80 miles the north in Mulanay township, in eastern Quezon province.

But bodies were washing up on shore to the west and northwest, too. The coast guard said it was checking a survivor's report that at least one group of people - some dead, some alive - had been spotted bobbing in the sea.

Tayongtong, a former school teacher, married seaman Ephraim Tayongtong Jr. in 2000. With no children, her 36-year-old husband was heading to South Korea next month for a job, and the couple had been going home to Cebu after he submitted the necessary work documents in Manila.

"We sensed there was trouble around lunchtime," she said. "The ship was bobbing left and right sharply. One time, it was not able to recover and the ship listed to the left side and did not bounce back. My husband knew what to do... he told me we should go to the emergency exit.

From the room they shared with other people on the top, seventh level, they donned life jackets and rushed up to the sun deck, where many people already had gathered.

"I slipped and fell to the ground and hit the railings because the ship was listing," she said, her face bruised from the fall. "I yelled at my husband to go ahead and leave me, but he crawled back and pleaded that I should not lose hope. He told me not to panic because he was there and he would take care of me.

"The ship then was listing very sharply and we had to hold onto the railings. When the sea was almost upon us, he yelled, 'Jump, jump!' and we jumped together, but I got under water and many were tugging at me, pulling me under water. When I surfaced later, my husband was nowhere to be found.

"When they helped me up into the life raft, I wept. I yelled `Love! Love! Love!' but there was no reply, nothing. The others on the raft asked me just to pray so he'll survive."

Officials initially reported 747 passengers and crew were aboard the ferry, but said Monday that it was carrying about 100 more. Capacity was listed as 1,992 people.

While some relatives tearfully waited for news, others angrily questioned why the ship was allowed to leave Manila late Friday for a 20-hour trip to Cebu with a typhoon approaching. The government ordered Sulpicio Lines to suspend services pending an investigation into the accident and a check of its other ships' seaworthiness.

Debate also began anew on safe-sailing rules in a country prone to storms - Fengshen was the seventh typhoon this year - and dependent on ferries to get around the sprawling archipelago.

Though President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said the ferry never should have left, Sulpicio Lines said it sailed with Coast Guard approval. The company said it will give 200,000 pesos (US$4,500) in compensation to relatives of each person who died, along with financial assistance to the survivors.

The Philippines was the scene of the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster when the ferry Dona Paz sank in 1987, killing more than 4,341 people.

[docpeter-2009]

From the story, "While some relatives tearfully waited for news, others were angry that the ship was allowed to leave Manila late Friday for a 20-hour trip to Cebu with a typhoon approaching."

Sort of what I am wondering. Maybe the ferry owners were just looking out for their $$ interest(s).

Also, from the story, "The ferry''s owner, Sulpicio Lines, said the ship sailed with Coast Guard approval. The company said it will give 200,000 pesos ($4,500) in compensation to relatives of each person who died, along with financial assistance to the survivors."

So now I guess we know what The owner''s idea of what a Filipino''s life is worth.

"Packing sustained winds of 74 miles per hour and gusts of up to 93 mph, the typhoon shifted course Sunday to the northwest and battered Manila at dawn, dumping heavy rain on the capital."

This isn''t/wasn''t but a Category 1 typhoon (hurricane). Still, with this much loss of life, one should really question the safety of the vessel prior to going to sea for a 20 hour trip. No to mention the idea of even sailing a ferry in this storm.

acolton1, you are not only an a$$hole, but a complete moron.....

Too bad CBS can''t even get it right, the currency in the Philippines, it is Piso.....not Peso...

[checkthepast]

The Poseidon Adventure in the Philippines how fantastic ! Who is playing the part of Shelly Winters, the fat chick with the pearl necklace ?

Posted by acolton1

Maybe one of the mourning relatives could be your entertaining ''fat chick with the pearl necklace''...to call a tragedy ''fantastic'' is sick. Please go and look at yourself in the mirror and stare until you figure out what is wrong with you.

[checkthepast]

Too bad CBS can''''t even get it right, the currency in the Philippines, it is Piso.....not Peso...

Posted by mitchoncbs

Philippine Currency: Peso (International ) Piso (Filipino ) (PHP)
I''m married to a filipina and visit quite often. The locals all use the international spelling and pronunciation of "peso".
Give the CBS people a break .

MY PRAYERS AND THOUGHTS GO OUT TO THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF THOSE WHO ARE IN MOURNING FOR THEIR LOST ONES. MAY GOD GIVE STRENGTH AND GUIDANCE TO EACH AND EVERYONE INVOLVED.

SITUATIONS LIKE THIS ARE NOT A JOKING MATTER. LET THE AUTHORITIES DO THEIR JOB.THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES ARE A GREAT AND HARDWORKING PEOPLES AND THEY LOVE TO HELP IN A LOT OF WAYS. I AM TRUE CANADIAN AND MY FIANCE IS FILIPINA AND WE BOTH PRAY TOGETHER EVERY DAY ONLINE FROM CANADA TO CEBU PHILIPPINES AND OUR HEARTS AND PRAYERS GO OUT TO THOSE LESS FORTUNATE THAN WE ARE.

TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS EVERYONE

checkthepast, I stand corrected (sort of) I lived there too and what I remembered was the spelling on the currency itself, and it was Piso....you googled it, didn''t you?

[acolton1]

checkthepas & mitchoncbs

I wish you were on the Philippine Ferry then I would throw you a cement live vest and push you under until you were D#$d.

People in these countries constantly OVERLOAD their Boats and Ferrys and when they sink or capsize and its 100% human fault. They throw safety to the wind and then when something happens they freek out and it would not have happen if they had not overloaded the ship, boat or ferry. I have not sympathy so save it checkthepas & mitchoncbs your idiots.

[deacon20081]

TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS EVERYONE

Posted by CORAZON13

AMEN +

[checkthepast]

acolton1,
Come on now, tell the truth....
You''re still upset because Beavis left you.....

[edgardebbins]

So how do 800 bodies just disappear???

acolton1, you''re...see how that is spelt? Now remember you low class sub-human. You don''t know what happened, you''re (see that word again moron?) just speculating.