Survey of Princess of the Stars for bodies starts

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has started surveying the M/V Princess of the Stars off Romblon to locate the bodies of passengers who were trapped when the vessel sank at the height of typhoon “Frank” last June 21.

PCG commandant Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said, “We have already met with the officials of Sulpicio Lines Inc. and the salvaging firm Harbor Star and when they said they were ready to conduct the survey operations, we told them to go ahead.”

But Tamayo said there is no definite timetable for the retrieval of the bodies.

Earlier, salvors removed 400 packs of the toxic pesticide endosulfan as well as Bayer Crop Science products, and siphoned off 176,000 liters of bunker fuel from the sunken ship.

At least 33 people survived the sea tragedy. More than 200 have been confirmed dead, while 515 others were listed as missing.

In Cebu City, meanwhile, acting Mayor Michael Rama gave assurance that the bodies that would be recovered will not be brought to Cebu unless they are cleared of contamination by toxic substances carried by the vessel.

Rama said the bodies will first undergo thorough examination by the Department of Health to ensure that they do not pose any public health risk.

Dr. Renato Bautista, head of the National Bureau of Investigation-Disaster Victims Identification, also promised to preserve the remains in their best possible form to facilitate easy identification.

Rama also echoed the call of authorities for the families of Princess of the Stars passengers still listed as missing not to go to Cebu unless they are contacted and once the recovered bodies are processed at the mobile morgue put up at the Cebu International Port. – With Rene Borromeo