Rescuers continued their search for passengers of the Philippine ship MV Asia South Korea last week, after it sank in the Visayan Sea before dawn on Dec. 23, officials said. The death toll from the disaster in the central Philippines had risen to 41, they said. The National Disaster Coordinating Council said officials were still verifying the number of survivors, which was most recently reported to be 711. The 27-year-old ship, owned by Cebu-based Trans-Asia Shipping, sank in rough seas off Bantayan Island, 300 miles southeast of Manila, while on a 12-hour voyage from the central Philippine city of Cebu to the island of Iloilo. Survivors said they heard an explosion before the vessel went down in rough seas.…