A ferry carrying over 350 people capsized early Monday near an island in the southern Philippines, leaving at least 15 dead while rescuers pulled 316 passengers to safety, officials reported.
The M/V Trisha Kerstin 3, an inter-island cargo and passenger vessel, was en route from Zamboanga to southern Jolo island in Sulu province with 332 passengers and 27 crew members when it encountered technical difficulties and sank shortly after midnight, according to coast guard authorities.
The ferry went down in calm weather about a nautical mile (nearly 2 kilometers) from Baluk-baluk, a village in Basilan province, said Coast Guard Commander Romel Dua.
“There was a coast guard safety officer on board and he was the first to call and alert us to deploy rescue vessels,” Dua added, noting that the safety officer survived.
One passenger, Mohamad Khan, recounted the terrifying moments as the ferry suddenly tilted and began taking on water, tossing him, his wife, and their 6-month-old baby into the dark sea. Khan and his wife were rescued, but tragically, their baby did not survive.
“My wife lost hold of our baby and all of us got separated at sea,” Khan told volunteer rescuer Gamar Alih, who shared a video of his account on Facebook. Khan’s wife wept as he described the ordeal.
Alih, a village councilor from Zamboanga City, said he joined the rescue efforts because some of his relatives were aboard the ferry—all of whom survived.
The search and rescue operation involved coast guard and navy ships, a surveillance plane, an air force Black Hawk helicopter, and fleets of local fishing boats, Dua said.
Basilan Governor Mujiv Hataman said several survivors and two bodies were brought to Isabela, the provincial capital, where he and ambulance crews were waiting.
“I’m receiving 37 people here in the pier. Unfortunately two are dead,” Hataman reported from the Isabela pier.
The coast guard confirmed that 316 passengers had been rescued and at least 15 bodies recovered.
The exact cause of the sinking remains unknown, and an investigation is underway, Dua said. He emphasized that the ferry had passed inspection before leaving Zamboanga and showed no signs of being overloaded.
Maritime accidents are frequent in the Philippine archipelago due to storms, poorly maintained vessels, overcrowding, and inconsistent enforcement of safety rules, especially in remote areas.
The country’s deadliest peacetime maritime disaster occurred in December 1987 when the ferry Dona Paz collided with a fuel tanker, killing over 4,300 people in the central Philippines.
