Scores reported dead as 2 ships collide off Cebu

MANILA, Philippines - Scores of people have been reported killed after a 2GO ferry sank in waters off Talisay City, Cebu province following a collision with a cargo vessel on Friday night.

As of this posting, at least 17 people have been reported killed as rescue operations continue for hundreds of passengers of MV Thomas Aquinas, which collided with cargo vessel Sulpicio Express at Lewis Ledge at past 8 p.m.

The captain of the ferry ordered the ship abandoned after it began listing and then sank after hitting the cargo vessel.

Coast Guard officer Joy Villegas said more than 250 passengers have been rescued as of this posting. She said authorities were still checking the number of others who had been taken to hospitals.

A report from Cebu-based paper, The Freeman, said that the ferry had 723 passengers including 644 adults, 24 minors and 55 infants.

Villegas said that two coast guard vessels and other nearby ships have joined the rescue operation.

The number of fatalities is feared to rise as several rescued passengers reported that they saw several bodies trapped and floating in the water.

"It seems some were not able to get out. I pity the children. We saw dead bodies on the side, and some being rescued," passenger Jerwin Agudong said in an interview over radio dzBB after his rescue.

Agudong said the ferry was entering the pier when the cargo vessel, which was on the way out, suddenly collided with it. He said he and other passengers jumped in front of the cargo vessel.

"One of the persons who jumped with us hit his head on metal. He is shaking and he is bloodied," he said.

He said the crew of the ferry distributed life jackets while the ship was slowly sinking.

He said the ferry came from Nasipit in Agusan del Sur province on a daylong journey.

Accidents at sea are common in the Philippine archipelago because of frequent storms, badly maintained boats and weak enforcement of safety regulations.

In 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker in the Philippines, killing more than 4,341 people in the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster.

In 2008, the ferry MV Princess of the Stars capsized during a typhoon in the central Philippines, killing nearly 800 people. with The Associated Press