Divers found bodies in lifejackets in airpockets of a giant sunken ferry in the Philippines today, and an official said it would be a miracle if any of the hundreds of missing had survived.
The
MV Princess of the Starshad over 860 people on board when it ran aground and capsized in huge swells off the cost of Sibuyan island during a typhoon on Saturday.
There are fears that hundreds more bodies may be trapped within the seven-storey vessel after a handful of survivors said many people did not make it off in time.
The MV Princess of the Stars had over 860 people on board when it ran aground and capsized
One spoke of children rolling around on the floor as the ship tilted.
"They may have been caught wherever they were at the particular time that the vessel changed its position," said Lieutenant-Colonel Edgard Arevalo, a navy spokesman.
He said divers saw up to 15 bodies in one part of the ship. Three bodies were cut free from a tangle of cables and brought to the surface. One, believed to be a crew member, was still clutching his radio.
"It will be a miracle if we find survivors," Lieutenant-Commander Inocencio Rosario, who led a team of divers, said.
Retrieval efforts were hampered by a lack of search lights, the ship's large size and unstable condition.
Officials plan to bore a hole inside the vessel to retrieve more corpses.
Drilling will have to be done cautiously because the ship, which is resting upside down with only the tip of its bow above water, is estimated to have around 100,000 litres of bunker fuel still on board.
A slick of oil had formed around the ship, but local officials said it did not represent a leak.
So far, 48 people have been found alive out of 865 passengers and crew on board and 70 bodies have been counted, the coast guard said.