More bodies being found adrift the sea, and 15 bodies sighted inside M/V Princess of the Stars

Miami
June 25, 2008
Story 1: More bodies being found adrift the sea, and 15 bodies sighted inside M/V Princess of the Stars

More bodies has been found floating at the sea and at the shoreline of Masbate, and another 15 bodies were sighted inside the passenger vessel, official said.

Lt. Commander Rogelio Villanueva of the Philippine Coast Guard, said that the team of divers at the scene where the M/V Princess of the Stars capsized. “The divers saw 15 floating bodies at the first class dining hall of the vessel,” Villanueva said.

Since morning of Wednesday, June 25, the divers started to do retrieve those bodies. Villanueva added that they are still looking for possible survivors, though the chances are becoming slimmer as the days pass by.

More or less 50 bodies were found at around 9:00 am floating at the sea around 17 nautical miles of Palana point in Burias Island, Masbate. According to Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo these 54 bodies will be still verified if they are all passengers of the M/V Princess of the Stars.

Three bodies were found at around 8:00 am in the shoreline of Burias Island, “Two of them are female, the other one is male and believed to be a Croatia based on his skin color, but this is still under verification for us to be sure of this details,” Arevalo added.

7 more bodies were found in the shoreline of San Pascual, Burias Island.

Because of many bodies being recovered and seen floating at Burias Island, Arevalo appeals to send them more or less 150 cadaver bags.

Meanwhile, National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Spokesman Anthony Golez, said that the Philippine government has accepted, “The offer from Hawaii of one USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier to help us in our rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts in areas devastated by the calamity.” It is unknown yet when the aircraft carrier will arrive in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Vilanueva said that they are hopeful that many bodies will be retrieved now as they are all raising against time.