Ferry carrying over 350 people sinks in Philippines, killing at least 18

 A ferry carrying more than 350 people has capsized off the southern Philippine province of Basilan, killing at least 18 people, according to officials.

The ⁠accident occurred after midnight on Monday ​as the passenger vessel, MV Trisha Kerstin ‍3, was en route to Jolo Island in southern Sulu after departing the port city of Zamboanga.

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The vessel, which ‍had 332 ⁠passengers on record and 27 crew, issued a distress signal at 1:50am on Monday (17:50 GMT Sunday), about four hours after it departed Zamboanga City, according to the Philippine coastguard.

The ferry sank in good weather about 1 nautical mile (nearly 2km) from the island village of Baluk-baluk in Basilan province, where many of the survivors were initially taken, the coastguard said.

At least 317 people have so far been rescued, according to the latest tally by the Philippine Coast Guard, with 18 confirmed dead and 24 still unaccounted for amid an ongoing search-and-rescue operation that also involves Navy and Air Force assets.

Emergency responders in Basilan said those who were rescued and needed medical attention were brought to a hospital in the capital city of Isabela.

“The challenge here really is the number of patients that are coming in. We are short-staffed at the moment,” said Ronalyn Perez, a medic.

Personnel tend to people who were on board the M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 around the waters of Baluk-Baluk Island in Basilan [Philippine coastguard via AP]

Basilan Governor Mujiv Hataman posted clips from the scene at Isabela port in Mindanao on Facebook, showing survivors being ushered off boats, some wrapped in thermal blankets and others being carried on stretchers.

Hataman told DZBB radio that most survivors were doing well, but several elderly passengers needed emergency medical care.

He added that authorities were still cross-checking ‌the passenger manifest as rescue efforts proceeded.

Dua, the coastguard commander in Mindanao, said the cause of the ferry sinking was not immediately clear and that there would be an investigation. He added that the coastguard cleared the ferry before it left the Zamboanga port, and there was no sign of overloading.

Sea accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago because of frequent storms, badly maintained vessels, overcrowding and spotty enforcement of safety regulations, especially in remote provinces.

On Friday, at least two Filipino sailors were reported killed, and 15 others were rescued after a Singapore-flagged general cargo vessel en route to China from the southern island of Mindanao sank. Four other sailors remain missing.

Last Monday, a private vessel also sank off the Davao region in Mindanao, leaving at least six dead and nine others missing.

In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker in the central Philippines, killing more than 4,300 people in the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster.