Fengshen displaced thousands of people as flashfloods caused rivers to overflow [AFP]

Many of the 750 passengers and crew on board the MV Princess of the Star when it went down off the coast of the central Philippine island of Sibuyan are feared dead, coastguards said on Sunday.

The MV Princess of the Star sent a distress signal the previous night after Typhoon Fengshen lashed the Pacific nation.

One rescue vessel sent to the area was forced to return to Batangas city because of big waves, commander Antonio Cuasito, the Cebu coastguard spokesman, said.

Armand Balilo, a coastguard spokesman, said the death toll could be high, adding "I'm still hopeful for survivors".

'Dead in the water'

The 22,000 tonne ferry was carrying 626 passengers and 121 crewmembers.

Vice admiral Wilfredo Tamayo, the Philippines coast guard chief, said earlier that the boat was "dead in the water" after its engine failed around noon on Saturday near Sibuyan.

Filipinos used inflated tires and rafts to keep afloat [AFP]

The ferry's owner Sulpicio Lines are reported to have lost radio contact with the ship.

At least 155 people are believed to have been killed across the region after Tyhoon Fengshen struck the day before, the Red Cross said.

Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to leave the worst-affected areas on Saturday as heavy rains from the typhoon lashed the archipelago.

Ten people drowned and five were missing after a river burst its banks in Maguindanao province.

In Cotabato City, a man and a child were buried in a landslide at a rubbish dump, police said, while five other people were drowned.

Thousands of residents in the city of Iloilo were left stranded on rooftops after a dam burst.

'Worst-ever flooding'

Serg Biron, an Iloilo congressman, told DZBB radio said: "I have received a lot of text messages appealing for helicopters, there are many people trapped on the rooftops.

"This is the worst flooding  that has hit Iloilo in history."

The National Power Corporation was forced to shut down its power plant in the area, triggering a blackout across the province, Nelson Hemona, the plant's manager, said.

Fengshen, the sixth typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, tore up trees and power lines across wide swathes of the country. Flights were cancelled and ships kept in harbour.

The storm forced more than 200,000 people to seek temporary shelter in the eastern Bicol region, a civil defence office said.

Gloria Arroyo, the country's president, ordered clean-up and rescue operations before leaving for an eight-day trip to the United States.

Government agencies were instructed to stockpile relief goods and state-run hospitals were put on alert.

Arroyo also ordered a crackdown on profiteers and hoarders of basic commodities, especially rice, in areas hit hard by the typhoon.

Recommend this article...

Did you enjoy this article? Please bookmark it onto: