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2009-12-24 04:27:36 - Vehicle Accident - Philippines EDIS CODE: VI-20091224-24289-PHL
Date & Time: 2009-12-24 04:27:36 [UTC]
Area: Philippines, Capital City, Manila Bay, Manila Missing person(s): 27
Damage level: Serious (Level 4)
Not confirmed information! Description: Twenty-seven people were missing Thursday after two boats collided in darkness in Manila Bay during the busy Christmas rush, the latest disaster to hit the Philippines in a year marked by tragedy. Rescuers were searching for 26 passengers and one crew member who had been aboard the wooden-hulled Catalyn B when it rammed into a fishing boat and sank in the early hours, coastguard officials said. An emergency operation in the busy waterway swung into action, saving 46 people over the next five hours. But an updated coastguard report said 27 others were still missing for among the 73 known to be aboard. "This is a small vessel with a single wooden hull. Water rushed in and the vessel sank not long after the collision," coastguard Commodore Luis Tuazon said over local radio. The other vessel -- a 369-tonne fishing boat named Nathalia -- was damaged but was afloat, coastguard spokesman Commander Armando Balilo told local radio. Earlier coastguard reports had said both vessels had sunk and had put the number missing at 37. "Some of those rescued are now aboard the Nathalia," Balilo said. The collision occurred at 2:25 am (1825 GMT Wednesday) as the passenger vessel was making its way to Lubang island southeast of Manila. The other boat was on its way back to the port of Navotas in northern Manila after an extended fishing trip in the Turtle islands in the southern Philippines, Tuazon said. The cause of the accident is being investigated. A coastguard statement said three of its vessels were taking part in the search for the missing, while eight other ships had diverted from their course and were en route to the area to join the rescue. A coastguard plane was also dispatched to scan the waters for survivors, the statement said. Officials say bad weather, poor maintenance, overcrowding of vessels and lax enforcement of regulations have contributed to disasters, and water voyages in the busy Christmas period are particularly fraught with danger. And more than 47,000 people are facing Christmas in evacuation camps and temporary accommodation around Mount Mayon, south of Manila, as the rumbling volcano threatens a violent eruption.
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