Boat sinks off Biliran; 19 die

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte — Nineteen people, many of them children, were confirmed dead while dozens remained missing late last night after an inter-island ferry, apparently overloaded, sank off Biliran at around 4 p.m. yesterday.

Superintendent Roberto Darantinao, Biliran police director, said the ferry M/V Melody sank 15 minutes after it left the port of the Biliran capital of Naval, heading for Malapiti island.

As of 8 p.m., rescue teams had found only 30 survivors from the ferry that could supposedly accomodate around 100 people. The 30 still unidentified survivors were taken to the Biliran provincial hospital in Naval.

Initial reports reaching the Coast Guard said the ferry was overloaded.

Police, quoting some survivors, said drunken men had apparently jumped off the ship for still unknown reasons, creating panic. Passengers reportedly surged toward one side of the ferry, causing the boat to capsize.

Most of the passengers were on their way home after joining the celebrations marking the founding anniversary of Biliran province, Darantinao said.

Darantinao said authorities were still busy with the rescue operations and could not determine the number of people on board. The operator of the ferry also remained unknown.

Last month, 72 people were killed or remain missing when the ferry M/V Carmela sank off Lucena