Philippine rescue divers have found many bodies inside the ferry that sank with more than 800 people on board, confirming the worst fears of desperate relatives. Only 38 people so far are known to have survived the ferry's sinking, which could be one of the worst shipping disasters in The Philippines in over 20 years. Another 558 people are dead or missing the Red Cross and civil defence said on Monday. Off the coast of Sibuyan, shaken rescue divers said they had discovered the worst when they finally worked their way into the submerged ship. National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) executive director Glenn Rabonza placed the damage to agriculture and fisheries at $75 million, infrastructure at $17 million, schools at $5 million, and fishing boats at $2.5 million. Rice and corn crops have been heavily damanged, as have the bangus (milk fish) and shrimp harvests. Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said 351 schools were damaged by the typhoon, while some 140 others are being used as evacuation centers. At least six power lines have yet to be restored in Luzon while 50 percent of Panay Island in Western Visayas has yet to be energized, according to the Department of Energy. Authorities said power has also started to normalize in Bicol, Leyte, Cebu, Bohol and Negros. Parts of Tayabas, Kalayaan, Famy, Gumaca and Atimonan, all in Quezon province, are still without power, officials of the National Transmission Corp. said.
Anxious and angry family members had been clinging to hope their loved ones might still be found alive inside the doomed Princess of the Stars, which capsized and sank on Saturday when it got caught in the path of a Typhoon Frank.
Landslides, severe flooding and the loss of dozens of fishing boats had left 224 dead and 374 missing, officials said, mostly in central areas which bore the brunt of the storm.
More than 200 people were still missing in the central island of Negros, while 63,000 people are still in evacuation centres after flash floods and landslides forced them to flee their homes, the civil defence agency said.
"There are still many dead inside," said one, who declined to give his name, coming back to his coast guard rescue boat from the wreck off the central island of Sibuyan.
He said one body was found on the bridge, wearing the uniform of a crewman - and still clutching the ship's radio in his hand.
The damage caused by typhoon "Frank" (international codename: Fengshen), which battered Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Southern Luzon, could cost as much as $100 million, officials said Tuesday.