'No chance to put on life jackets': 41 people, including baby, killed in Philippine ferry sinking
The death toll from the Philippines’ ferry disaster rose to 41 Friday as rescuers brought more bodies ashore to anguished families, including 10-year-old survivor Gilbert de la Cruz who wailed in despair as the corpse of his one-year-old brother was recovered.
Divers were searching for five people still missing after the Kim Nirvana carrying 173 passengers and 14 crewmen capsized as it was leaving Ormoc port in the central Philippines on Thursday.
Crowds of anxious relatives waited at the port as divers manoeuvred their inflatable boats through the choppy waters to the upturned hull of the ferry, its brightly painted orange and green bow just poking above the surface.
As De la Cruz embraced his distraught father, hopes were fading that the boy’s mother and sister could be still alive trapped in the hull.
Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya told reporters 141 survived, including all the crew, while five others were missing.
