Updated on
Summary
Philippine authorities are continuing to search for about 30 people still missing after a ferry sank in the middle of the night. Nine people died when the SuperFerry 9 listed then sank, but more than 900 were rescued from life rafts near the southern city of Zamboanga. Officials are hopeful some passengers may still be drifting in life rafts. The Philippine defense minister said the rescue had been helped by the presence of other vessels nearby. A spokesman for the ferry owner, Aboitiz Transport System, said the priority was to find survivors. The focus of the company now, in co-ordination with the authorities, is the rescue and the proper counting of the survivors, said Erden Ferrer. That is actually the primary objective we have at the moment. He said the company was finding out what happened to the crew.The captain is alive. The captain is on board the Navy Ship 116, at the moment; that we have confirmed. The cause of the sinking was unknown, but the weather was reported to be fair at the time of the incident.
