Malaysians rescue 4 Philippine survivors of ferry disaster

[senorpepr]

MANILA (AFP) - Malaysian fishermen have rescued four Filipino survivors of a ferry that sank in bad weather off the Philippine island of Palawan four days ago, officials said.

Deputy head of naval forces in the southern Philippines, Captain Petronilo Magno, said Thursday that four Filipinos had been picked up by fishermen near Bangui island, off Sabah, and had been turned over to the Royal Malaysian Navy.

The four are believed to be among five survivors of the sunken ferry, the Piary, who were spotted by Philippine aircraft clinging to wooden debris near Bangui. It was not clear what happened to the fifth survivor.

The Piary, a wooden-hulled vessel, went down in stormy seas Sunday off the western island of Palawan with at least 75 passengers. Some 25 survivors of the disaster were picked up near the scene.

Philippine naval and coastguard vessels are still searching the area for more survivors.

Meanwhile, on the central island of Leyte and the southern island of Mindanao, rescue and relief activities continued for thousands of people displaced or left missing by flashfloods and landslides last weekend.

The toll of dead and missing from landslides and flashfloods in Leyte and Mindanao has risen to 156, the authorities said.

More than 24,000 people are still housed in evacuation centers with damage to crops and infrastructure estimated at over five million dollars.