Posted on 09/05/2009 10:47:41 PM PDT by gura
3 killed, 880 people rescued from Philippine ferry By JIM GOMEZ (AP) – 59 minutes ago MANILA, Philippines — At least three people drowned and more than 800 terrified passengers, many roused from their sleep, were rescued early Sunday from a ferry that listed and then sank in the southern Philippines, officials said. More than 80 people were missing. Coast guard chief Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said 880 of 964 passengers and crewmen on board the Superferry 9 were transferred to two nearby commercial ships and a navy gunboat hours after the ferry began to list off Zamboanga del Norte province before dawn. Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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Well, that depends on your perspective.
It's this generation, man. Just don't have any character anymore.
Almost a thousand people on a ferry?
Oh my.
Thank You for your tactfull comeback.
God Rest the souls and now waiting for the rest of the story......
My browser to link is soooo slow I sometimes fall asleep.
PI is not wo sub human albiet crooked.
Why would any reasonable human jump on an obvious ship gonna sink per over weight load?
What if any am I missing on the story?
Ferries in the Philippines are cheap transporation in a very poor country. The ferry system carries huge numbers annually.
Its a mass of islands.
Well-off people fly, poor ones take ferries.
Standards are very low, but so are the fares.
There were about 950 people on mine, about 85% men coming or going on business. We shared three (one user asian toilets) bathrooms amongst us. I remember this well, as I had the runs all night. Miraculously, one was available every time I needed it (I seem to remember doing some bargaining with the Lord about not sh*ting my pants in front of my brother-in-law).
It was a Friday evening and I remember the Muslims alone near the bow of the ship doing evening prayers. Creepy to me even then.
Unfortunate that even three died. But you would never believe the number of roaches that must have gone down!
As a 16 year old decades ago I must have been one of those rich folk. LOL
Yes we did fly in a for hire plane (nervously so even at that tender age)
THen by ferry (I am a land leg person so I had to crap/puke over side without modesty).
Then by boat one of those canuoe looking things with out riggers and a maybe it might work engine.
The Last let of the trip was 9 hours over severe 4 wheel terrain in an old army Jeepney.
But I will say this I would do it all over again for the exp. I lived living on that far South Island.
Part of perhaps my character today.
If I am ever left alone on this earth... I have a cheap condo in wait for me on the East Side of Samar.
Yes.
THe Catholic/Chrisian rebels need to speak up.
PI is a serene living it you can afford the back and forth Visa.
Sorry guys/gals for mis spells and such.
I am pooped.
Week end of work and cleaning Salmon..
Now just on the smoke/refill chips every hour or so.
Forgive me. LOL Hey I wished I had some PI coconut shells for the smokin fish mose.
Mose means MODE.
Living means Loved..ect ect.
Thank God for Sunday.
Pure Nap day.
God Bless all yall.
Family time.
I remember the Philippine ferry Dona Paz going down, in the 80’s — over 3000 dead — worst maritime disaster in history, I think.
The article conveniently did not mention SuperFerry 14.
I've been on this particular SuperFerry route at least a dozen times. It runs between Davao City and Manila. GenSan is about a half a day away from Davao City in southern Mindanao. I've never boarded the boat in GenSan (only Davao City), but there they use bomb sniffing dogs who seem more more interested in locating food in luggage than anything else.
There were those who suggested that SuperFerry 14 was drowned for the insurance money - every one of the boat fleets in Philippines is surplus from Japan and some of the boats are older than others. The last (accent on "last") time I rode SuperFerry from Manila to Cebu[1] it was particularly unpleasant.
If you're traveling in Philippines stay off the boats. SuperFerry used to be the very best of an otherwise sorry lot, but with so many "accidents" in recent years, it's just not worth it. Fly PAL or a subsidiary going from island to island. PAL just bought a whole bunch of brand new planes last year. The domestic planes are execrable Airbuses, but at least they're new.
[1] At that time the Davao City/Manila run passed through Ilo-ilo and Cebu every other run, with a total of 2 runs per week. It takes about 3 days to get from Davao City to Manila.
Usually there's more. That SuperFerry started out in Davao City and there were reserved but empty spots for the people they were scheduled to pick up in Zamboanga.
The prices between cabin accomodation (6 per cabin, originally single person in Japan) and flying are about the same. If you're willing or unable to pay for more than steerage, then yes, boats are the best value.
I was a lot more impressed with SuperFerry five years ago than I am now. The service has declined and the fleet has continued to age.
The Lusitania sinking a few years later (that led to the US entering WWI) killed over 3000 people.
"Old army jeepney"s are a standard means of getting around, even in Manila. Sooner or later, they're all going to break down and that part of history will be gone forever. Until then, the artwork on the sides, particularly in Mindanao can be quite spectacular.
Then by boat one of those canuoe looking things with out riggers and a maybe it might work engine.
That would be a catamaran. Those are fun!
Well our family and friends still call Taft Samar the Visiya(sice) Islands.
Diff perspective is all.
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