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| Philippine ferry sinks off Leyte with dozens dead | Philippine ferry sinks off Leyte with dozens dead |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| At least 36 people have died after a passenger ferry capsized off the coast of Leyte in the central Philippines. | At least 36 people have died after a passenger ferry capsized off the coast of Leyte in the central Philippines. |
| The Kim Nirvana was carrying 173 people when it overturned in rough waters just outside the port of Ormoc. | The Kim Nirvana was carrying 173 people when it overturned in rough waters just outside the port of Ormoc. |
| Philippine coast guard officials told the BBC the rescue operation was ongoing but gave no further details. | Philippine coast guard officials told the BBC the rescue operation was ongoing but gave no further details. |
| The chair of the Philippine Red Cross, Richard Gordon, said that between 50 and 70 people had been rescued from the boat, which was visible from the shore. | The chair of the Philippine Red Cross, Richard Gordon, said that between 50 and 70 people had been rescued from the boat, which was visible from the shore. |
| "We're sending an ambulance and divers to the area to help with the search and rescue," he told the BBC. | "We're sending an ambulance and divers to the area to help with the search and rescue," he told the BBC. |
| Ciriaco Tolibao, an official at Ormoc's disaster risk reduction and management office, told the AFP news agency that divers were searching inside the upturned ship. | Ciriaco Tolibao, an official at Ormoc's disaster risk reduction and management office, told the AFP news agency that divers were searching inside the upturned ship. |
| Local reports said the ferry was heading for the central islands of Camotes, in Cebu province, to the south-west of Leyte. The cause of the sinking is not yet known. | Local reports said the ferry was heading for the central islands of Camotes, in Cebu province, to the south-west of Leyte. The cause of the sinking is not yet known. |
| "[The ferry] rolled while attempting to turn around swiftly. I am alive because I jumped overboard as soon as it happened," vegetable trader Reynante Manza told reporters. | |
| A photographer for the AFP news agency at the scene of the sinking said that only a small section of the boat's underbelly, surrounded by rescue boats, could be seen by late Thursday afternoon. | |
| People in the Philippines rely on ferry services to get around its thousands of islands, but vessels are often poorly maintained, leading to scores of deaths at sea every year. | People in the Philippines rely on ferry services to get around its thousands of islands, but vessels are often poorly maintained, leading to scores of deaths at sea every year. |