MANILA — Forty people, 11 of them children, died after a ferry capsized in the central Philippines, the coast guard said Wednesday, the latest in a long line of maritime tragedies.
The Philippine Coast Guard said the interisland ferry, the Don Dexter Cathlyn, overturned on Tuesday after being buffeted by strong winds and waves en route to Sorsogon Province south of Manila.
The Philippine Red Cross said more than 100 passengers had been rescued by Wednesday but that at least a dozen more were still missing. The ship's manifest listed only 119 passengers, although the coast guard said many passengers often do not register. Interisland ferries in the Philippines are often overloaded with passengers and cargo.
The Red Cross said two of the bodies had not been claimed by relatives. The survivors, most of whom suffered shock, sleeplessness and starvation, would undergo "stress debriefing," the relief agency said.
Such violations are common in this archipelago nation, where ferries are the primary mode of transportation between islands.
"A shipping company whose one ship is ensured for $5 million can easily settle with a poor family for only 200,000 pesos ($4,161)," he said. "It's more economical to be negligent than to be responsible. It's cheaper to pay off the victims than to upgrade the vessels and improve their safety standards."
Despite the series of sea tragedies in the past several decades, government safety regulation had not improved, Mr. Roque said.
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