The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) yesterday said the death toll from the ill-fated M/V St. Thomas Aquinas has gone up to 80 as five more bodies were seen floating near Cordova town in Cebu.
PCG spokesman Commander Armand Balilo said as of 4:45 p.m., the recovered bodies from the St. Thomas Aquinas, which collided with M/V Sulpicio Express 7 off Cordova town last Aug. 16, consist of 76 passengers and four crewmembers.
The current death toll brings down the number of missing persons to 40.
There were 750 survivors of the accident, the PCG said.
The Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council is the overall agency handling and supervising the search, rescue and retrieval operations on the country’s latest maritime disaster.
Day of mourning
The city government of Butuan declared yesterday as a “Day of Mourning” in sympathy to the victims of St. Thomas Aquinas, some of whom came from Butuan.
Butuan City Mayor Ferdinand Amante Jr. also directed all the city’s public institutions to lower the Philippine flag at half mast for three days beginning yesterday.
Amante said they will also provide legal, moral and financial support to the victims and their families.
Saturday 24 August 2013
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/08/24/1128641/cebu-collision-death-toll-rises-80
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