By Bernama,
Manila : Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Wednesday said the owner of MV Princess of the Stars are accountable for the capsize, which saw 70 people dead and 744 more are still missing.
“We are holding Sulpicio Lines Inc.accountable on how the tragedy occurred, so that the incident would not happen again,” Xinhua news agency quoted Arroyo as saying in the online news network INQUIRER.NET, as saying.
On its way from Manila to Cebu, the 23,800-tonne M/V Princess of the Stars sank off the Philippines’ central province of Romblon at the height of Typhoon Fengshen which lashed the archipelago from east to west over the weekend.
There were 862 people on board as the passenger ship, including 751 manifested passengers and 111 crew members.
Arroyo said: “We have been coordinating disaster relief and aid from allies here in Washington and around the world. We have a very able government team directing the response on the ground”.
Arroyo assured that her government would do everything possible to aid in the clean up and provide comfort to the families of the victims.
According to coast guard officials and recounts of some survivors, the ferry’s engine died in the midst of “mountain high” waves stirred by typhoon and capsized in the waters only three kilometers to coast.
Meanwhile, Sulpicio Lines officials denied there was an engine problem and said they had secured the sailing permit from the marine-time authority for the ferry’s Friday voyage, despite typhoon Fengshen’ s entry into the eastern part of the country.
The company said it would provide assistance to the families and cooperate with the authority in the probe.