Cebu maritime tragedy death toll up to 40, 1 more body found

Sulpicio Express Siete after mishap with MV St. Thomas Aquinas. Coastguard rescuers ride a rubber boat past the damaged bow of the Sulpicio Express 7 cargo vessel, which collided with a ferry on Friday in Talisay, Cebu in central Philippines August 17, 2013. The ferry sank after colliding with the container ship owned by a company involved in the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster, killing at least 24 people and leaving more than 200 missing, the coast guard said on Saturday.

The death toll from the maritime tragedy last weekend involving the collision of a passenger vessel and a cargo ship in Cebu waters rose to 40 with the recovery of another body early Monday.

A fisherman recovered the body of a girl aged 2 to 3 near the Talisay command center, radio dzBB’s Cebu affiliate Jasmine Baylosis reported.

The Coast Guard’s official figures as of 5:30 p.m. Sunday had included 39 dead, 750 rescued, and 81 still missing.

For their part, technical divers prepared to dive again at the site of the tragedy to look for survivors or bodies.

Meanwhile, dzBB’s Carlo Mateo reported the Philippine Coast Guard beefed up its Special Operations Group in Cebu to conduct search and rescue operations.

Coast Guard spokesman Cmdr. Armand Balilo said the search-and-rescue vessel BRP Pampanga with 12 SOG divers arrived in Talisay Sunday.

The Coast Guard is also scheduled to fly a helicopter over the area Monday for an aerial search and to check the extent of an oil spill. —KG, GMA News