Philippines rescuers rushed on Wednesday to save five people clinging to parts of a ferry that sank three days ago in a series of weather-related disasters that left about 300 people dead or missing, officials said.
Efforts continue to reach villages isolated by weekend mudslides and floods in the central and southern regions of the country, as pledges of aid pour in from around the world.
The five were spotted on Tuesday clinging to the wreck of the wooden-hulled Piary that went down in stormy seas on Sunday with 75 passengers and crew, the coast guard’s Lieutenant Commander Alan Corpus said.
Only 25 people have been rescued from the boat, which sank off the western island of Palawan.
A coast guard plane saw the five in the vicinity of Bangui island, close to the maritime border with Malaysia, Corpus said.
The plane had dropped bottled water to them and six coast guard and naval vessels, assisted by three planes, were heading to the area.
Local fishing boats and Malaysian naval vessels were also in the vicinity, he said.
The Malaysian government has given Philippines planes and boats permission to enter its territory as part of rescue operations, Corpus said.
Search and rescue operations for the others on the Piary continued but no one else has been spotted.
The ferry sank as the Philippines battled a series of disasters spawned by heavy rains that hit the central and southern parts of the Philippines last week.
The civil defence office said 143 people were confirmed dead from floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains in the central island of Leyte and the southern island of Mindanao.
Another 112 people were still missing, it said.
Local officials feared 105 people were killed from one village on the small island of Panaon alone. Huge waves have prevented rescuers and supplies from getting to Panaon, they said.
Other villages have been isolated by heavy rains and storm damage, making an accurate number of fatalities difficult to establish.
The civil defense office said that about 17 800 people have been evacuated from their homes due to the floods and landslides.
Damage to roads, bridges, crops and infrastructure has initially been placed at 220,4-million pesos ($3,98-million), the office said.
Condolences and aid pledges from abroad have poured in to the Philippines. The Chinese government handed over a cheque for 5,5-million pesos ($99 540) on Wednesday for the victims.
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan promised this week to round up aid for the country. Japan and the United States have also sent money, food, medicine and clothes to the devastated areas.
President Gloria Arroyo has deferred her traditional Christmas holiday in the northern resort city of Baguio so the money for the trip could be used to help the disaster victims, presidential spokesperson Ignacio Bunye said. — Sapa-AFP