Superferry 9 Sinks in the Philippines, 9 Reported Dead, 33 Missing

Attachment 1064

September 6th, 2009

Reports are coming in that a SuperFerry has sunk with a loss of life of Zamboanga del Norte.

The Philippine Coast Guard reported receiving a distress signal 2 a.m. as passengers were awoken from their sleep by a severe tilting of the vessel. The Philippine Coast Guard responded with multiple warships and local fishing vessels joined in rescuing passengers.

The ship was having problems with one of its generators as it sailed from General Santos City destined for Iloilo. This was not the first time the SuperFerry 9 has had major problems as in May of this year, many passengers were stranded off Camiguin when the engines died.

American troops stationed in Zamboanga that were providing counter-terrorism training to local troops responded by deploying a helicopter and several vessels to assist in the rescue according to Colonel William Coultrup, the commander of the U.S. troops there.

Relatives of passengers can call the company that owns the Superferries: Aboitiz Transport System Corp at 5287000

image by Philippine Navy