Pesticide found in capsized ship halts retrieval operations

(Updated 12:27 p.m.) MANILA, Philippines – Rescue and retrieval operations inside the ill-fated MV Princess of the Stars were halted on Friday following reports that the vessel was carrying a pesticide cargo when it capsized. In a briefing at the Department of National Defense, Vice President Noli de Castro said the government ordered the stoppage [...]

US donates additional P28.6M, says battle group helps in recovery, rehab

MANILA, Philippines – The United States Embassy on Friday announced that it was donating an additional P28.6 million to aid victims of typhoon Frank. At the same time, it said that the US carrier battle group has been closely coordinating with local civil and military authorities in rescue, recovery and disaster relief efforts for typhoon-ravaged [...]

Death toll due to typhoon ‘Frank’ swells to 498 – NDCC

MANILA, Philippines – The death toll from typhoon “Frank” went up to 498 as reports from more affected areas reached the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Thursday morning. In its report dated 6 a.m. Thursday, the NDCC said the 498 fatalities from “Frank” included 221 who were already identified and 227 bodies recovered so far. [...]

115 bodies spotted in Burias, Camarines Sur – DOTC exec

MANILA, Philippines – Searchers scouring the areas near Sibuyan Island where the MV Princess of the Stars capsized have reported seeing 115 bodies floating near the province of Camarines Sur and Burias Island in Masbate. A television report aired Wednesday night quoted a Philippine transportation official who said that the figure of 115 bodies was [...]

Obama sympathizes with victims of typhoon in RP

CHICAGO, Illinois – Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee in the 2008 US presidential polls, is offering his condolences to the victims of typhoon “Frank” (Fengshen), which battered the Philippines over the weekend. In a statement on Wednesday, Obama said that through President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, he was expressing his “sympathies to the [...]

‘Many’ bodies found in Philippine ferry

Philippine rescue divers said they found many bodies Tuesday inside the ferry that sank with more than 850 people on board, confirming the worst fears of desperate relatives. Anxious and angry family members had been clinging to hope their loved ones might still be found alive inside the doomed Princess of the Stars, which capsized [...]

Philippines ferry hit by typhoon

Fears are growing for at least 700 passengers on a ferry which officials say has capsized off the Philippines in the wake of a typhoon. Four bodies have been washed up on shore near Sibuyan in the central Philippines, officials said. Some reports say the MV Princess of Stars, which had become stranded in heavy [...]