The Philippine authority said on Friday that it was unclear how many passengers were exactly on board the ferry that sank in the central region on Thursday, after 12 people were reported drowned while nearly 100 still missing.
Rescue officials scored the Coast Guard for not inspecting the vessel, after records showed that only 60 of more than 100 passengers had been enrolled in the ship's manifest, according to a report by GMA news network.
Forty unlisted passengers supposedly boarded 14 cargo trucks loaded on the ship, the report added.
Divers were still searching on Friday in the interior of the sunken vessel, in a bid to find more survivors or bodies, a local government official said.
He said that huge waves prevented divers from getting to the craft shortly after it ran aground and sank on Thursday morning near the coast of Quezon province.
The Quezon Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council said as of Friday morning 117 passengers have been rescued and the local government in Quezon has sent aid to the survivors, including food and used clothing, along with rescue equipment.
Local reports on Friday said overloading and the bad weather brought by a passing typhoon could be the cause behind the accident, while investigators are set to look into possible human errors.
Source: Xinhua
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