The coast guard is revising the death toll to 35, with 20 missing and at least 134 rescued as the search operation continues through the night.
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The boat, which was 27 meters long, was barely 200 meters from the shore line, according to Philippine Coast Guard Lieutenant Christopher Ganet.
Rescue boats picked up dozens of survivors who clung to the overturned hull of the Kim Nirvana, 1km from Ormoc port, Ciriaco Tolibao from the city’s disaster risk reduction and management office told AFP.
Balilo said most of the 118 survivors were brought to the hospital in Ormoc City for treatment. ‘We still need to confirm what actually happened.
Balilo said authorities were looking at various possible causes, including human error and bad weather.
Lawrence Drake, 48, a retired firefighter from Rochester, New York, said he was able to revive a woman who wasn’t breathing while they were in the water via mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He says he also saved an 8-year-old boy and the woman’s pregnant daughter.
Survivors told The Associated Press by cellphone that the bow suddenly rose from the water before the vessel flipped over on one side, turning it upside down and trapping passengers underneath.
Scores, sometimes hundreds, of people die each year in ferry accidents in the Philippines, an archipelago of 7,100 islands with a notoriously poor record for maritime safety. He said he saw at least seven bodies floating in the water, including two children. “I am a big guy, and tried to push the boat back over but it was way too late”.
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Coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo said 127 people survived, while 26 were still listed as missing.
