Search for Missing after Philippine Ferry Sinks, 38 dead
Divers will search waters in the central Philippines on Friday for 15 people still missing after a ferry carrying 187 passengers and crew sank a day earlier, killing 38 people, the coast guard said. There were 134 survivors after the MBCA Kim-Nirvana, a motorised outrigger, capsized minutes after leaving the port of Ormoc City. The number on board was revised down on Friday after it was found two crew members did not board the ferry. Search and rescue operations continued through the night, with coast guard personnel reinforced by a Philippine navy ship and two air force planes. A formal marine casualty investigation into the cause of the sinking will begin on Friday, Philippine coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo told local radio.
Philippine Ferry Sinks, 36 Dead
A ferry carrying 189 passengers and crew capsized off the central Philippines in heavy waves on Thursday, killing at least 36 people but the majority of those on board were rescued, the coast guard and police said. The MBCA Kim-Nirvana, a motorised outrigger with 173 passengers and 16 crew on board, capsized minutes after leaving the port of Ormoc. Coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo said 127 people survived, while 26 were still listed as missing. "Search and rescue operations are ongoing. Initially we learned that it was due to big waves," said Rey Gozon, director of the office of civil defence for the region. Scores, sometimes hundreds, of people die each year in ferry accidents in the Philippines, an archipelago of 7,100 islands with a notoriously poor record for maritime safety.
Typhoon Slams into Southern China, One Dead
A super typhoon slammed into China on Friday killing one person, as the government ordered an all-out effort to prevent loss of life from a storm that has already killed at least 64 people in the Philippines. Typhoon Rammasun, with winds of up to 180 kph (112 mph), made landfall at Wenchang city on south China's island province of Hainan on Friday afternoon, the National Meteorological Center said on its website. The typhoon, which is shaping up to be the strongest to hit Hainan in more than 40 years, will bring heavy rain throughout the weekend before moving southwest and weakening on Monday, the Xinhua state news agency said. By mid-evening on Friday, the storm had made landfall in Guangdong province on the mainland. It is likely to hit the southwestern Guangxi region late on Friday.
Typhoon Kills 10 in Philippines, Storm Heading for China
A typhoon killed at least 10 people as it churned across the Philippines and shut down the capital, cutting power and prompting the evacuation of more than 400,000 residents, rescue officials said. The eye of Typhoon Rammasun, the strongest storm to hit the country this year, passed south of Manila after cutting a path across the main island of Luzon, toppling trees and power lines and causing electrocutions and widespread blackouts. By Wednesday evening, the storm was easing in the capital and markets and public offices were due to reopen on Thursday. Some schools were to remain closed. Manila Electric Company said 76 percent of the area it serves was without power, compared with 86 percent earlier in the day.
Philippine Typhoon Leaves Chaos in its Wake
A typhoon killed at least 10 people as it churned across the Philippines and shut down the capital, cutting power and prompting the evacuation of almost more than 370,000 people, rescue officials said on Wednesday. The eye of Typhoon Rammasun, the strongest storm to hit the country this year, passed to the south of Manila on Wednesday after cutting a path across the main island of Luzon, toppling trees and power lines and causing electrocutions and widespread blackouts. Richard Gordon, chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross, said there was minimal damage in the capital but staff were trying to rescue people trapped by fallen debris in Batangas City to the south where two people were electrocuted.
Typhoon Batters Philippines, Thousand Flee to Manila
Rammasun hits eastern Rapu-Rapu island, heads towards Manila; Strongest storm after last year's Haiyan. Thousands evacuated from coastal villages. Thousands of people in the Philippines fled from their homes on Tuesday as the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year made landfall, toppling trees and cutting power as it made its way straight towards the capital, Manila. Parts of the Philippines are still recovering from Typhoon Haiyan, one of the biggest cyclones known to have made landfall anywhere, which killed more than 6,100 people last year, many in tsunami-like sea surges, and left millions homeless. Typhoon Rammasun, with gusts of up to 160 kph (99 mph) and sustained winds of 130 kph (81 mph) near its centre…
China to Counter Vietnam Version on S.China Sea
China said on Tuesday that it wanted to counter Vietnam's "slander" to the world about what was happening in disputed areas of the South China Sea, after Beijing asked the United Nations to circulate documents outlining its position. A senior U.S. diplomat called on China to provide evidence to back up its claim to 90 percent of the sea, believed to be rich in energy and minerals. And the Philippines, embroiled in disputes with China over its claims to parts of the sea, defended a weekend get together on the disputed Spratly Islands of Philippine and Vietnamese servicemen and said another gathering would be staged next year. Tensions have been running particularly high between China and Vietnam…
China Again Rejects Sea Dispute Arbitration
China on Wednesday rejected an arbitration tribunal's ruling giving it six months to respond to a case filed by the Philippines over disputed waters, saying it has no plans to take part. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, rejecting rival claims to parts from Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei in one of Asia's most intractable disputes and a possible flashpoint. It also has a separate maritime dispute with Japan over islands in the East Sea. The tribunal in The Hague gave Beijing until Dec. 15 to reply to the first international case filed against China related to the energy-rich waters. In giving China time to respond to the Philippines' filing…
Vietnam Considers Legal Action Against China
Vietnam says will "resolutely defend its sovereignty." China says Vietnam making "irresponsible accusations" against it; Philippines submitted arbitration case against China in March. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said his government was considering various "defence options" against China, including legal action, following the deployment of a Chinese oil rig to waters in the South China Sea that Hanoi also claims. Dung's comments, given in a written response to questions from Reuters, were the first time he has suggested Vietnam would take legal measures, and drew an angry response from China, which insisted the rig was in its sovereign waters.
Obama: Philippines Pact No Threat to China
US says not planning to rebuild old bases or construct new ones. Obama says goal is not to contain China while Philippines' Aquino says Chinese shouldn't be concerned. President Barack Obama said a new military pact signed with the Philippines on Monday granting a larger presence for U.S. forces would bolster the Southeast Asian country's maritime security, but was not aimed at countering China's growing military might. The agreement, which will have an initial 10-year term, was touted as the highlight of Obama's first visit to the Philippines, the United States' oldest ally in the region. It sets the framework for a beefed-up rotation of U.S. troops, ships and warplanes through the Philippines, part of a rebalancing of U.S. resources towards fast-growing Asia and the Pacific.
