Philippine ferry carrying over 350 people sinks, at least 15 dead

A ferry with more than 350 people on board sank early Monday morning near an island in the southern Philippines, and rescuers have saved at least 316 passengers and retrieved 15 bodies, according to officials.The MV Trisha Kerstin 3, an inter-island cargo and passenger ferry, was sailing to southern Jolo Island in Sulu province from the port city of Zamboanga with 332 passengers and 27 crew members when it apparently encountered technical problems and sank after midnight, coastguard officials said.The ferry sank in good weather about a nautical mile from the island village of Baluk-baluk in Basilan province, where many of the survivors were initially taken, coastguard commander Romel Dua said.“There was a coastguard safety officer on board and he was the first to call and alert us to deploy rescue vessels,” Dua said, adding that the safety officer survived.Survivors of the sunken MV Trisha Kerstin 3 are transferred to another ship on Monday. Photo: Philippine Coast Guard/AFPCoastguard and navy ships, along with a surveillance plane, an air force Black Hawk helicopter and fleets of fishing boats, were carrying out search and rescue operations off Basilan, Dua said.