Metro Manila, Philippines – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported the possible location of the sunken M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 on Tuesday, Feb. 3, adding that the fatalities have risen to 43.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, PCG Technical Diving Group Supervisor Commander Cheska Jamorol said the ill-fated ferry was lying in an east-to-west orientation relative to Baluk-Baluk Island in Basilan.
Authorities recovered one cadaver on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 43. Survivors remain at 316.
PCG technical wreck divers started their operations on Jan. 29 amid an intensified search for missing passengers of the vessel.
On Tuesday, they integrated a side-scan sonar system into their operations.
“With an operational range of approximately 1,500 meters to 10,000 meters, the system enables wider and more precise seabed scanning,” the PCG said.
M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 departed Zamboanga on the evening of Jan. 25, and was bound for Jolo, Sulu, when it made a distress call on the early morning of Jan. 26.
It was carrying 332 passengers and 27 crew members when it reportedly went down at around 2.75 nautical miles northeast of Baluk-Baluk Island.
The PCG and the Maritime Industry Authority are investigating the cause of the incident and possible liabilities of shipowner and operator Aleson Shipping Lines Inc.
