Typhoon Fengshen Kills Hundreds in Philippines

Tag : Lina Footwear
Earlier on Sunday, local time, the US-bound Arroyo scolded thecoast guard chief Vice admiral Wilfredo Tamayo over wireless phoneon why M/V Princess of Stars was allowed to sail from the port ofManila despite of the clear and present danger of the ragingPacific storm. She then proceeded on her meeting with Bush insteadof returning home.

Tamayo ordered his rescue ships to come to the aid of the ferryboat, which had become stranded close to the central island ofSibuyan when its overworked and untended engines finallyconked-out. Inclement weather prevented the coastguard vessels fromreaching the doomed boat on time. Aircraft like powerfulhelicopters are out of the question as the corrupt-ridden countryis unable to sufficiently equip its major services with the meansnecessary to conduct fast response operations on times of extremeneeds. Seeking every window of opportunity, the rescue ships hopedthat the weather would finally allow safe passage to the disasterarea.

But the hundreds of terrified souls on board the dilapidatedferryboat, which also brought heavy cargo on its hold, weredestined to meet their ghastly end in the hungry jaws of the sea.The Princess of Stars, impotent and powerless with dead engines,was at the mercy of 10-foot waves which battered her as she drifteddangerously close to shore rocks, which eventually punctured herhull.

Filled with water, the boat finally capsized at around 11 a.m.,with no rescue ship in sight. Survivors who swam from the horrificscene described a watery hell of screaming, crying children, andhundreds upon hundreds of lifeless bodies tossing about in thefrothing sea.

Evidence of the terrible loss of lives soon reached nearby coastalcommunities as wreckage from the sunk boat drifted toward theshores of Sibuyan island. Residents of the coastal town of SanFernando reported finding many children's slippers and otherfootwear but no sign of their lost owners. The town mayor, NanneteTansingco, said that many life jackets also washed onshore.

Finally, a police speedboat managed to reach the watery graveyardof the ship and its unfortunate passengers. The police officersreported that the vessel flipped over and only its bow is visibleand that it suffered an very big hole amidships, which likelycaused the ill-starred Princess of Stars to fill with sea waterquickly.

Here in the Philippines, impoverished Filipinos have no choice butrisk their lives in riding on often over-crowded ferries that plythe numerous islands of the Philippine archipelago. Despite recentaccidents, many ship owners refuse to replace their aging vessels.

Soon, the shipping offices of Sulpicio Lines, the owner of Princessof the Stars, were besieged with thousands of relatives anxious tolearn the fate of loved ones. A tearful Isadora Salinas hoped andprayed that her family is still alive as she and another sister,Lina Salinas, pressed the offices of Sulpicio for informationconcerning the ferry. Salinas said that port officials should havenot allowed the passenger-cargo boat to leave.

Even then, ill-fortune has followed Sulpicio Lines through decadesof turbulent sailing business. In 1987, in what is considered asthe worst peacetime sea disaster in the world, an aging Sulpicioship Dona Paz , collided with a fuel tanker in central Philippines, caught fireand eventually sank in the deep waters of the Philippine Sea.Estimates put the death toll at more than 4,000, includingpassengers and crew.