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Miracle rescue in shark-infested Philippine waters

A man carries a two-month-old off a ferry after arriving in Iloilo, Philippines, yesterday, a day after the child was rescued from a sunken ferry. PHOTO: AFP

A woman who survived more than 24 hours in shark-infested waters off the southern Philippines after a ferry sank was hauled to safety yesterday in what officials hailed a “miracle” rescue.

A specialist air force rescue team found Lita Casunglon bobbing in the ocean off the Zamboanga peninsula, about 15km from where the Superferry 9 sank on Sunday morning in a tragedy that left nine people dead.

“She’s very lucky she survived,” regional navy commander Rear Admiral Alexander Pama said, adding that the tropical waters of Zamboanga were notorious for being infested with sharks.

“While its not uncommon to hear of stories like this, I would definitely consider it a miracle, if I were her,” he said.

Pama said the air force rescuers had jumped into the water to save Casunglon and she was in a stable condition.

However, he said he was still to receive the full circumstances surrounding her ordeal, such as whether she was wearing a flotation vest or had clung to anything.

The Superferry 9 officially had 968 people aboard and an immediate rescue effort on Sunday after it began sinking saw most of the people safely ashore.

It was not all good news yesterday, with at least one person from the ferry still believed to be missing, officials said.

Coast guard chief Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said vessels continued to scour the waters for any other survivors.

Two people had been listed on Monday morning as remaining missing and Tamayo said it was not yet clear whether Casunglon was one of those.

The number of missing dropped from 63, given by the coast guard on Sunday night to two, after authorities were able to gain a clearer picture of who was on board.

Tamayo said, howeber, that he could not discount the possibility that there could have been more people aboard the vessel than officially registered on the manifest, meaning other passengers could still be missing.

Another concern Monday was that the ferry, now believed lying on the sea bed 18km off the coast at a depth of more than 5km, may spill thousands of liters of bunker fuel, the coast guard said.

And with no explanation yet over why the ferry tilted and sank, the highest authorities in the Philippines were demanding answers.

“Somebody must definitely be punished, whoever may be held liable for this mishap,” presidential spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo told reporters after an official inquiry was launched. “We have to ensure that this will not happen again.”

Questions have emerged over the seaworthiness of the 23-year-old Japanese-built vessel, as it went down in relatively calm weather.
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