A Philippine ferry carrying 251 people was capsized, near Philipines’ capital Manila, on Thursday 21 of December, because of bad weather. As a result, four people lost their lives, seven are missing, while 240 passengers were rescued.
The 240 people were rescued by fishermen and most of them were brought to Dinahican port. The Filipino coastguard sent rescue boats hours after the accident, eight miles off Real town in Quezon province.
At the time, search and rescue operations are being conducted, until all that were people onboard the ship are accounted for.
However,the operations are experiencing difficulties due to heavy rain and big waves, which a tropical storm caused, Reuters reports. In fact, extensive flooding is expected because of the storm, which approaches the country.
The ferry began its journey from a port in Real, when inclement weather caused the boat to take in waters and capsizing minutes later.
Sailing boats accidents between the islands of Philippines are common, as the vessels are overloaded many times. However, that is not what happened in the ferry, the Philipines’ coast guard informed.
