A PASSENGER and cargo ferry carrying more than 350 people sank shortly after midnight near an island in the southern Philippines, leaving at least 15 people dead while hundreds of others were pulled to safety, according to Philippine coast guard and provincial officials.
Ap reported today that the M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 was en route from the port city of Zamboanga to Jolo Island in Sulu province when it encountered what authorities described as apparent technical problems before going down at sea.
The vessel was carrying 332 passengers and 27 crew members at the time of the incident.
The ferry sank in calm weather about one nautical mile, or nearly two kilometres, from the coastal village of Baluk-baluk in Basilan province. Many of the survivors were initially taken ashore there, according to coast guard commander Romel Dua.
“There was a coast guard safety officer on board and he was the first to call and alert us to deploy rescue vessels,” Dua told The Associated Press, adding that the officer survived the sinking.
Search and rescue operations were immediately launched, involving coast guard and navy ships, a surveillance aircraft, an air force Black Hawk helicopter and numerous fishing boats from nearby communities.
The operation continued through the night as rescuers scoured the waters off Basilan for survivors and victims.
Basilan governor Mujiv Hataman said some of the rescued passengers and recovered bodies were brought to Isabela City, the provincial capital, where emergency teams were standing by.
“I’m receiving 37 people here in the pier. Unfortunately, two are dead,” Hataman told The Associated Press (AP) by phone from the Isabela pier.
By Monday, the coast guard confirmed that at least 316 passengers had been rescued, while 15 bodies had been recovered. Authorities cautioned that the death toll could rise as search efforts continued.
The exact cause of the sinking has yet to be determined and will be the subject of a formal investigation, Dua said. He added that the ferry had been cleared by the coast guard prior to departure from Zamboanga and that there were no indications the vessel was overloaded.
Maritime accidents remain a persistent problem in the Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, where ferries are a vital mode of transport.
Such incidents are often linked to poor vessel maintenance, overcrowding, weak enforcement of safety regulations and hazardous weather, particularly in remote areas.
The country’s deadliest maritime disaster occurred in December 1987, when the ferry Dona Paz collided with a fuel tanker in central Philippine waters, killing more than 4,300 people in what remains the world’s worst peacetime maritime tragedy. - January 26, 2026
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