700 missing after Philippine ferry sinks

MANILA (Reuters) - More than 700 people were missing onSunday after a Philippine passenger ship capsized in a typhoonthat has killed scores and left a trail of destruction acrossthe archipelago.

Only four people are so far known to have survived theferry disaster and they said many passengers did not make itoff the MV Princess of Stars in time.

Crowded life-rafts sank in the cold, storm-tossed seas.

"Many of us jumped, the waves were so huge, and the rainswere heavy," a survivor identified only as Jesse told localradio.

"There was just one announcement over the megaphone, about30 minutes before the ship tilted to its side."

"Immediately after I jumped, the ship tilted, the olderpeople were left on the ship."

A coast guard vessel trawling the waters around the 23,824gross tonne ferry, which is upside down with only its bow abovethe waves, was trying to confirm reports some passengers hadmade it to a small island.

"We are hoping more people will have reached theshoreline," Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo, the head of the coastguard, told Reuters.

NO GOOD NEWS

Princess of Stars ran aground on Saturday but the coastguard was unable to reach it because of huge swells and badweather caused by Typhoon Fengshen, which crashed into thecentral Philippines on Friday.

Four people have been confirmed dead but most of the620-plus passengers and 121 crew remain missing. Children'sslippers and life jackets have washed ashore.

According to the ship's manifest, there were 20 childrenand 33 infants on board.

At least two other coast guard vessels were en route tohelp in rescue efforts and Tamayo said he hoped divers would beable to scour the submerged ship on Monday.

He said there was no sign fuel was leaking from the ferrybut said an oil-spill response team would arrive with one ofthe two coast guard ships before dawn on Monday.

Princess of Stars sank 3 km (two miles) from Sibuyan islandin the centre of the archipelago.

The vessel's owner, Sulpicio Lines, said it had lostcontact with the ferry, which was en route to Cebu from Manila,at around 12.30 p.m. (0430 GMT) on Saturday.

Dozens of relatives, some in tears, crowded into theoffices of Sulpicio Lines in the central city of Cebu, lookingfor information.

"My father was one of the passengers. Right now there is nogood news," said Lani Dakay. "My father is 59, I don't evenknow if he can swim."

HIT BAD

Typhoon Fengshen, with maximum gusts of 195 kph (121 mph),has killed at least 155 people in central and southernPhilippines, including 101 in Iloilo province, wherefloodwaters submerged whole communities.

"Iloilo is like an ocean. This is the worst disaster wehave had in our history," Governor Neil Tupaz told local radio.

Tens of thousands of people in the province remain maroonedon the roofs of their submerged houses.

In neighbouring Capiz, more than 2,000 houses weredestroyed in the provincial capital and officials werestruggling to make contact with communities further afield.

"We got hit real bad this time," said Richard Gordon, thechairman of the Philippines' Red Cross.

After battering Manila on Sunday, Fengshen was expected toexit the north of the country by Monday en route to Taiwan,where it could make landfall in the next few days, according tostorm tracker website http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com .

More than 20,000 people were being housed in evacuationcentres in the centre and south of the archipelago.

An archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, the Philippinesis hit by an average of 20 typhoons a year.

(Writing by Carmel Crimmins; Editing by Charles Dick)