Philippine ferry woman in ‘miracle rescue’

PHILIPPINES – A woman who survived more than 24 hours in shark-infested waters off the southern Philippines after a ferry sank was hauled to safety yesterday in what officials hailed a ‘miracle’ rescue.

A specialist airforce rescue team found Lita Casunglon bobbing in the ocean off the Zamboanga peninsula, about 15km from where the Superferry 9 sank on Sunday morning in a tragedy that left nine people dead.’She’s very lucky she survived,’ regional navy commander Rear Admiral Alexander Pama told AFP, noting that the tropical waters of Zamboanga were notorious for being infested with sharks.’While its not uncommon to hear of stories like this, I would definitely consider it a miracle, if I were her.’Pama said the airforce rescuers had jumped into the water to save Casunglon, and she was in a stable condition.The Superferry 9 officially had 968 people aboard, and an immediate rescue effort on Sunday after it began sinking saw most of the people safely ashore.The number of missing dropped from 63, given by the coast guard on Sunday night to two, after authorities were able to gain a clearer picture of who was on board.But Tamayo said he could not discount the possibility that there could have been more people aboard the vessel than officially registered on the manifest, meaning other passengers could still be missing.While illegal, it is common practice among Philippine shipping companies to allow people aboard without listing them on the manifest.Another concern yesterday was that the ferry, now believed lying on the seabed 18km off the coast at a depth of more than five kilometres, may spill thousands of litres of bunker fuel, the coast guard said.And with no explanation yet over why the ferry tilted and sank, the highest authorities in the Philippines were demanding answers.’Somebody must definitely be punished, whoever may be held liable for this mishap,’ presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said. – Nampa-AFP