A ferry carrying more than 350 people sank after midnight off an island in the southern Philippines, killing at least 15 people while more than 300 others were rescued, Philippine authorities said on Monday. The M/V Trisha Kerstin 3, an inter-island passenger and cargo ferry, went down about a nautical mile off Basilan province while travelling from Zamboanga City to Jolo island in Sulu province, as per news agency AP.The Philippine Coast Guard said the vessel was carrying 332 passengers and 27 crew members when it apparently encountered technical problems and sank in good weather conditions. Rescue teams have so far saved at least 316 people, while search operations continue for possible missing passengers, officials said.

Rescue operations underway

Coast guard commander Romel Dua said that a coast guard safety officer on board the ferry managed to alert authorities before the vessel went down, triggering an immediate rescue response. “There was a coast guard safety officer on board and he was the first to call and alert us to deploy rescue vessels,” Dua said, adding that the officer survived, as quoted by AP.Coast guard and navy ships, a surveillance plane, an air force Black Hawk helicopter and local fishing boats were deployed in the search-and-rescue operation off Basilan, according to AP.

Bodies recovered, survivors taken ashore

Basilan governor Mujiv Hataman said survivors and bodies were brought to Isabela City, the provincial capital. “I’m receiving 37 people here in the pier. Unfortunately, two are dead,” Hataman told AP.Authorities later confirmed that at least 15 bodies had been recovered.Local officials said many survivors were initially taken to the island village of Baluk-baluk in Basilan, close to where the ferry sank.Emergency responder Ronalyn Perez told news agency AFP that at least 138 people had been rescued at that stage, warning that local medical facilities were stretched. “The challenge here really is the number of patients that are coming in. We are short-staffed at the moment,” Perez said.Authorities said rescue numbers increased significantly as operations continued through the day.

Cause of sinking under probe

The exact cause of the incident was not immediately clear. Dua said there was no indication of overloading and that the coast guard had cleared the ferry before it departed Zamboanga port. An investigation has been ordered to determine what led to the sinking.

Ferry accidents common in Philippines

Sea accidents are frequent in the Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands, due to storms, ageing vessels, overcrowding and uneven enforcement of safety rules, especially in remote areas. In one of the world’s deadliest maritime disasters, the ferry Dona Paz sank in 1987 after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,300 people.