NEWSFLASH

BATANGAS-MINDORO FERRY SINKS, EVERYONE SAFE

Batangas City, April 18, 2000 - All the 137 people on board the ferry boat Peñafrancia were rescued after the vessel hit an uncharted underwater hazard while sailing the port of Batangas at 2 a.m.,Monday, the Coast Guard announced.

Government investigators said hitting an uncharted water hazard only meant that the vessel had veered off its original course.

Coast Guard area commander Candido Florencio said the steel-hulled Peñafrancia was licensed to carry 600 people and was not overloaded.

On hitting a submerged object upon arriving in Batangas from Sablayan in nearby Mindoro island, the Peñafrancia tilted to one side before sinking slowly, he said.

All 117 passengers and 20 crew members were offloaded from the ferry before it went down, Florencio told radio station dzMM.

"Water penetrated its engine and it stopped, but the crew was able to send a distress call to the Coast Guard in Batangas and two passenger ships responded to help in the rescue," he said.

"It sank while it was being towed, but all crew and authorized passengers had been transferred to the two rescue vessels by then."

The Peñafrancia sinking came five days after the Annahada capsized last Wednesday, leaving at least 139 passenger dead and many others believed missing.