5 dead, 60 missing as Philippines ferry sinks

MANILA

Sept. 6: A ferry carrying nearly 1,000 passengers sank in the southern Philippines early on Sunday, leaving at least five dead and more than 60 missing.
The Superferry 9 began to list before dawn about 15 kilometres off Zamboanga del Norte province, rousing terrified passengers from their sleep and sending many jumping into the water, Coast Guard Chief Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said.
Rescuers transferred 900 of 968 passengers and crewmen to two nearby commercial ships, a Navy gunboat and a fishing boat, he said.
A search was under way for more than 60 people who remained missing, Mr Tamayo said, adding that they may have drifted with their life jackets or have been rescued but were not yet listed as survivors.
“We really hope they’re just unaccounted for due to the confusion,” Mr Tamayo said.
Navy ships were deployed and three military aircraft scoured the seas, defence secretary Gilbert Teodoro said.
American troops providing counter-terrorism training to Philippine soldiers in the region deployed a civilian helicopter and five boats, some carrying paramedics, to help, US Col. William Coultrup said. Mr Teodoro said two men and a child drowned during the scramble to escape the ship. The bodies of two other passengers were later plucked from the sea by fishermen, the Coast Guard said, adding that three passengers were injured.