Rescuers Search Missing in Philippine Ferry Fire

By Erik de Castro and Romeo Ranoco

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine divers Saturday searched a ferry that caught fire at sea, fearing some of the 110 missing victims might have been trapped in their cabins.

Divers had entered the bridge of the 155-meter (510-foot) long Super Ferry 14, which listed on its right side after it was towed from the mouth of Manila Bay to the eastern province of Bataan, but found nothing.

"Our divers were able to search the submerged portion. We still can't board the dry portion because it's still hot," coastguard Rear Admiral Arthur Gosingan told Reuters.

By late afternoon, thin smoke drifted from parts of the 10,000-tonship. Earlier Saturday, four coastguard boats sprayed water on the smoldering ferry to cool the vessel down.

"The ferry is not totally burned. We hope that we could still find survivors," Gosingan said.

Gosingan, who led the rescuers, said boats, a helicopter and a plane did not spot any survivors Saturday morning.

Relatives of the missing at the coastguard headquarters in Manila said they feared people had been trapped in the ferry. "I'm losing hope. It's been 24 hours," said Georgito Canaza, who was searching for his mother.

Another relative said most of the missing passengers had been in cabins when the fire started.

The ferry, which the coastguard said was carrying a total 879 passengers and crew, was on a journey from Manila to Bacolod in central Philippines when the disaster struck an hour after it left port.

The coastguard said 766 people were rescued, including 153 crew members. It listed one dead.

The shipping firm said 788 people were rescued. It listed one dead and 110 missing.

The coastguard appealed to authorities in towns around Manila Bay to report the appearance of survivors, many of whom were picked up by fishing boats after they jumped into the sea to escape the flames.

They also said they were checking if some of those listed as missing had been recovered, but did not report to authorities.

BOMB NOT THE CAUSE

Gosingan rejected suspicion the fire had been caused by a bomb as some of the survivors said they heard an explosion before fire broke out shortly after midnight Friday.

Maritime accidents are common in the Philippines, and are often caused by overcrowding on rickety craft. But the 155-meter (510-foot) long Super Ferry 14 was apparently not overloaded and is a relatively new ship.

In the world's worst peacetime shipping disaster, more than 4,300 people were killed in a collision between the ferry Dona Paz and an oil tanker in Philippine waters just before Christmas in 1987.

"We are rejecting the terrorist angle as of now, unless it is proven otherwise," Gosingan said.

The coastguard inspects boats at ports before allowing them to sail around the country of more than 7,100 islands and he said the inspection had found no evidence of any explosives.

"As of now, our reports show the fire started at the galley but it's very hard to speculate. We'll know what happened once we inspect the ship," Gosingan said.

Replying Friday to questions about the possibility of sabotage, Gina Virtusio, spokeswoman for the consortium, said the owners were "leaning toward that issue."

The military is battling four Muslim rebels groups in the south of the mainly Roman Catholic country. It is also fighting communist rebels in various parts of the country.

Rebels have been blamed for bomb attacks in the capital as well as various other towns and cities across the country, particularly in the south. (Additional reporting from Pedro Uchi)