MANILA, Philippines - The death toll in the sinking of M/V St. Thomas Aquinas, which collided with a cargo ship off Cebu on Aug. 16, has reached 94 as three more bodies were recovered yesterday.
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Cmdr. Armand Balilo said the bodies were that of a woman and two children – a boy and a girl.
Navy Lt. Jim Alagao, Central Visayas Command spokesman, said technical divers of the Navy recovered the three bodies in the economy class cabin of the sunken vessel.
He said 43 more passengers have not been accounted for. Eighty-nine of the fatalities were passengers and five crew members.
Alagao said another dive was scheduled yesterday afternoon to check on the other cabins. “It’s highly dangerous down there, aside from being very dark, the current is strong,†he said.
The missing passengers and crewmembers are believed to be trapped in the cabin of the sunken vessel. – With Evelyn Macairan