Philippine ferry carrying over 700 sinks in storm

At least four dead bodies and three survivors were recovered Sunday from a passenger ferry that sunk in rough seas with more than 800 people on board in the central Philippines, police and local officials said.

The three survivors were reportedly found in the village of Mabini in San Fernando town on Sibuyan Island, according to town Mayor Nanette Tansingco.

A Philippine ferry with more than 700 people on board capsized during a typhoon and all but a handful of those aboard have been accounted for, officials said on Sunday.

Rescuers had not yet reached the scene where the MV Princess of Stars sank near Sibuyan island in the centre of the country as a Typhoon Fengshen pounded the area.

"The ship is upside down. We are waiting for rescuers but there are none so far. Our pump boats are all broken," Ricardo Aligno, a town councilor from the coastal village of San Fernando, told local radio.

The coast guard expected one of its ships to arrive in the area in the next few hours. The ship sank about three kilometers from shore.

The bodies of two women were recovered and children's' slippers washed ashore. Before dawn on Sunday, some villagers heard warning sirens from the ship, which had 626 passengers and 121 crew on board.

Many of the 800 passengers and crew on a ferry that sunk off the Philippines are feared dead, the Coast Guard said Sunday.

Coast Guard spokesman Armand Balilo said the likely death toll from the sinking, in heavy seas caused by a typhoon lashing the Philippines, could be high, adding "I am still hopeful for survivors."

Many of the 800 passengers and crew on a ferry that sunk off the Philippines are feared dead, the Coast Guard said Sunday.

Coast Guard spokesman Armand Balilo said the likely death toll from the sinking, in heavy seas caused by a typhoon lashing the Philippines, could be high, adding "I am still hopeful for survivors."

A ferry carrying more than 740 people has sank off the coast of the Philippines, killing at least 17.

Rescue ships battled waves and strong winds to reach the MV Princess of Stars which ran aground near Sibuyan island after being hit by Typhoon Fengshen.

The engines on the ferry, which had 626 passengers and 121 crew on board, had failed and radio contact was difficult amid the severe conditions.

At least two dead bodies were recovered Sunday from a passenger ferry that sunk in rough seas with more than 800 people on board in the central Philippines, police said, the dpa reported.

The two fatalities, both women, were found on the shores of San Fernando town on Sibuyan Island, according to town police chief Inspector Reynaldo Reyes.

"The older woman was tied to a foam mattress," he said. "We didn't see any other bodies and there were few items found on the shores. We fear that more bodies are trapped inside the ferry."

"This is already a confirmed report," Nanette Tansingco, mayor of the coastal town of San Fernando in Romblon province, said of the sinking.

The MV Princess of the Star sent a distress signal late on Saturday from the area after Typhoon Fengshen lashed the nation leaving 19 people dead.

"I sent a speed boat to check on the report, and they saw the boat submerged with a hole in the hull. They saw the name Princess of the Star and there were at least four bodies there," the mayor told DZMM local radio.

Typhoon Fengshen has killed at least 19 people in the Philippines and is hampering efforts to rescue more than 700 people aboard a ferry adrift in the storm.

At least four people were killed when a ferry with over 700 passengers sank in the aftermath of Typhoon Fengshen in the central Philippines, local officials said on Sunday.