Ferry Capsizes with Massive Loss of Life

Periodically the ocean reminds us that sailing the seas in ships is still a dangerous business.  Filipino Ferry Princess of Stars capsized on June 24, 2008 with only 62 survivors out of a passenger list of over 800.

The ferry capsized after being hit by Typhoon Fengshen on Saturday while sailing from Manila to Cebu City. Despite efforts by the Philippines Coast Guard, few passengers were able to be rescued from inside the capsized vessel. The ship remains afloat and rescue divers are still attempting to save those who may be trapped in air pockets.

Modern transportation has become so reliable in most cases that we often take it for granted until weather impacts the ships or planes involved. 

clipped from www.iht.com MANILA - What Rodel Laborte could not forget was the screaming of his fellow passengers. As the strong waves and wind tossed around the 24,000-ton ferry - "like a paper boat," he said - pandemonium broke out. The shrieks got so loud, he said, he could not determine if the captain gave an order to abandon the ship. "My heart was racing fast," Laborte said. "All I could think about was whether there were enough lifeboats for all of us." When the ship tilted heavily to the left, Laborte decided to jump, along with several others, into the churning water, where they clung to a lifeboat. It took only minutes for much of the ferry to disappear, he said. Laborte, 60, was one of the 62 survivors of the Princess of the Stars, which was struck by Typhoon Fengshen on Saturday, possibly killing most of the more than 800 passengers and crew on board. He and 27 others huddled in the lifeboat, which ended up Monday on the shore of Quezon Province, miles from the island of Sibuyan, near where the ferry capsized. The ferry disaster could turn out to be one of the worst in the Philippines in the past two decades. On Tuesday, rescue teams from the Philippine Coast Guard managed to penetrate the overturned ship and found many decomposing corpses floating inside.

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