Philippines ferry disaster toll 24

Bodies of 24 victims have so far been recovered and 326 survivors have been rescued after the 13,000 tonne Princess of the Orient went down as the 453 people on board scrambled for life rafts and lifeboats early Saturday.

Nelson Canoy, an assistant on the boat who was rescued Sunday after about 36 hours. in the water, appeared still in shock, shivering fiercely as he ate his first meal since the disaster. “I thank God and I thank all the saints for giving me a second life. I don’t want to ride a boat anymore,” he said.

He said he saw large and small boats pass him in the water. But although he shouted,no one noticed until a naval boat rescued him. As decomposing corpses were lined up beneath palm trees some survivors furiously accused the crew of deserting them as the ship went down. “Nobody told us to abandon ship,” said Cerilo Alverio, 40, a trader who lost his four-year-old child in the disaster.

“The captain and the crew took the best lifeboat and the flares,” he said. His wife, Fe, 38, who also survived, said “nobody took care of us, so it was every man for himself.”

But Ed Go, vice-President of Sulpicio Lines, the vessel owner, denied that the crew abandoned the passengers and said that many crewmen were among the casualties. The bodies were laid on the beach in Naic, 50 km south of Manila close to thatched beach cabanas and barbecue pits normally thronged by holiday-makers. At least seven bodies had been taken to the beach by midday and earlier Revilla said a total of 11 bodies had been recovered and 11 survivors had been rescued from the surrounding waters. Initial optimism over therecovery of survivors on the first day, began to fade as the number of survivors pulled from the water began falling while the number of corpses started rising. The sinking was the latest ferry disaster in this archipelago which relies largely on often ill-maintained ferries for transportation.

More people could be forced onto ferries if Philippine Airlines, which operates 80 percent of domestic flights, shuts down this week as announced.