Missing RP ferry with 57 aboard found

ZAMBOANGA CITY (AP) — A ferry carrying 57 passengers and crew that was missing for several days in the southern Philippines was found in Indonesian waters, a military officer said yesterday. Everyone on board was safe.

The motor launch M/L Rubian left Simunul island in Tawi-Tawi for nearby Sibutu, 30 kilometers away, Tuesday morning, but did not arrive later the same day as scheduled.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) listed the wooden-hulled boat, which has no radio or radar, as missing the next day.

Col. Fredesvindo Covarrubias, commander of the military’s 4th Civil Relations Group, quoted a Philippine Marine report as saying the ferry drifted south from the Sulu Sea after its propeller broke. It was found off Kakaban island in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan region.

"All the passengers are alive, and we are closely coordinating with the Indonesian authorities for the safe return of the Filipinos and the boat," Covarrubias said.

He said Simunul Mayor Ahmad Nazip Abdurahman was coordinating with Kalimantan officials, and that worried relatives of the passengers are constantly being updated by naval authorities.

Among the passengers of the ferry are nine barangay chairmen and four councilors of the island-municipality.

Details on who found the ferry and when it was found were not immediately available, he said. The boat is owned by one Rasid Salim of Simunul.

Based on reports reaching the PCG headquarters in Manila, a search was immediately conducted on the southeast waters of Sibutu up to the Celebes Sea near the Indonesian territory with the help of some private boat owners, but found no trace of the missing boat.

The rescuers later reported encountering big waves due to bad weather, prompting a halt to all operations. No air search was conducted due to unavailability of planes from the Philippine Air Force.

The PCG said another ferry, Janin, reported Tuesday afternoon encountering big waves and was towing a third ferry that had engine trouble in the waters near Simunul and Sibutu islands.

The islands are part of the southernmost province of Tawi-Tawi.

Ferries are the chief means of transportation between islands in remote areas in the southern Philippines. Most are poorly maintained and are not equipped with safety gear. — With Roel Pareño, Jose Aravilla