Philippine ferry sinks — 232 rescued, 5 dead

Owners `Sulpicio Lines’ and the navy, who gave the casualty figures, said it was carrying 453 people including 102 crew members.

Andrei Andresan, legal counsel for Sulpicio, said survivors were rescued by navy and private ships which raced to the area. Air force helicopters plucked others from drifting rubber lifeboats off the coast of Cavite province this morning, radio reports said.

Navy spokesman Salvador Cuba saidhe expected more survivors have reached the shores of Cavite and Batangas provinces but have yet to be accounted for.Survivors spoke of panic amid darkness and howling winds as they jumped off the listing vessel which eventually sank. Waves as high as six metres lashed the survivors, who credited their survival to keeping calm.

The disaster struck suddenly, according to survivors. Many said they were asleep and there was no order from the crew to abandon ship.

One survivor said he thought many of the 200 people on the lower deck of the ferry were not able to get out.

Mariano Gasacao, captain of one of the rescue vessels, said they found some people floating in life jackets while others were in small rubber liferafts waving flashlights.

Sulpicio Lines officials said the vessel had earlier sent out a distress call and given the order to abandon ship after it developed a 20 degree list. The cause of the accident was still unclear, but based on reports from survivors three big waves hit the ferry insuccession, forcing it to list amid strong winds.

Severe tropical storm `Vicki’, with sustained wind speeds of 100 kilometres per hour, crossed the Luzon Sea in the area of the disaster from the south China Sea overnight, the Manila weather bureau said.

Meanwhile, President Joseph Estrada has declared a state of calamity in two northern Philippine provinces of Pangasinan and Pampanga as officials said nine people were killed and more than 300,000 affected by widespread flooding.