ABOARD THE BRP PAMPANGA (Philippines), June 23: Philippine rescue teams battled furious seas and high winds on Monday in a desperate hunt for more survivors of a ferry that sank in a typhoon with 862 people aboard.

Only the tip of the bow of the Princess of the Stars remained above water after it tilted and quickly capsized on Saturday, and navy divers have found no sign of life aboard the doomed vessel just off the central island of Sibuyan.

A US supply ship with search and rescue helicopters aboard and maritime surveillance aircraft were ordered into the area to help, the US embassy here said.

So far, 36 people from the ferry have turned up alive, raising hopes that more will be found on the many tiny islands nearby.

Late Monday at least 40 people were reported to have turned up alive on the island of Burias but it is unclear how many were on the doomed ferry.

“Not all of them came from the sunken ferry,” Mayor Eduardo Andueza told DZBB radio from Claveria town.

“Some were survivors of fishing vessels that also sank during the typhoon,” Andueza said.

“There are survivors, there are some who made it ashore but later died, and some of the bodies were already decomposing, so I had them buried,” the mayor said.

Several bodies have washed up along shorelines along with children’s shoes, heightening fears of a high death toll, but coast guard chief Vice-Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said: “We have not lost hope that there might be more survivors.” “We have slowed down to scout for floating bodies,” coast guard rescue vessel captain Lieutenant Commander Inocencio Rosario told journalists on board.

“After three days they tend to float,” he added.

The search continued as the ferry company revised up the number of passengers and crew on board from 747 to 862.—AFP