Metro Manila, Philippines — Authorities recovered four more bodies on Friday, Jan. 30, as search operations entered the fifth day on the sunken M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 off Hadji Muhtamad, Basilan.
Hadji Muhtamad Mayor Arsina Kahing-Nanoh said the bodies included one female and three males, two of which have been turned over to the Zamboanga City police.
The latest recoveries brought the death toll to 33.
Meanwhile, family members have identified nine of the 11 bodies recovered on Thursday, Jan. 29. The victims were residents of Zamboanga City and Sulu, including a senior citizen and a six-year-old child. Two male cadavers remain unidentified.
M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 sank northeast of Baluk-Baluk Island while en route from Zamboanga City to Jolo, Sulu, on Jan. 26.
Over 300 passengers survived the incident.
The Department of Transportation has since grounded the fleet of operator Aleson Shipping Lines pending the outcome of the investigation. Several vessels have been granted special permits to cover Aleson’s routes temporarily.
Search continues
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said search operations will continue as authorities validate reports that the actual number of passengers may be higher than what is reflected in the vessel’s official passenger manifest.
The PCG earlier said that 10 passengers remain missing.
“These past few days, nakakatanggap tayo ng impormasyon sa mga kamaganakan ng mga nawawala na meron po silang mga pamilya doon na hindi naisama sa manifesto or kasama at hindi lang nai-record natin,” PCG spokesperson Captain Noemie Cayabyab said in a radio interview.
(Translation: Over the past few days, we have been receiving information from the relatives of those reported missing, saying that some of their family members were not included in the passenger manifest or were not recorded.)
Cayabyab said search operations will remain ongoing as the PCG works to determine the vessel’s exact passenger count.
“Dineploy na rin po natin ang isa sa pinakamalaking barko, itong 97 meters natin nasa Basilan na po ngayon at nagdeploy na rin tayo ng ating remotely operated vehicle para macheck kung mayroon pang na trap doon sa loob,” said Cayabyab.
(Translation: We have deployed one of our largest vessels, our 97-meter ship, which is now in Basilan, and we have also deployed a remotely operated vehicle to check if there are still people trapped inside.)
