Bodies wash ashore from capsized Philippine ferry

MANILA, July 13 (Reuters) The bodies of three people, including a child, washed ashore in the Philippines today and divers saw many corpses still trapped inside a capsized ferry, army officials said.

At least 11 people are known to have died when the Blue Water Princess sank on Thursday off San Francisco town in central Quezon province, about 150 km (93 miles) south of Manila, as it was making for safety in bad weather, the officials said.

They had earlier said 15 people were killed.

No one is sure how many passengers were on board but scores are believed to be missing. At least 129 people were rescued.

Lieutenant-Colonel Rhoderick Parayno said divers sent by the army, police and coastguard had seen many bodies in the submerged vessel.

''They can't start recovery due to strong waves,'' Parayno told reporters in mobile phone text messages. ''We're sending more diving equipment to the area. We don't have rubber boats for use of the divers.'' Navy ships were en route to the area but having difficulty due to the choppy sea and strong winds.

Separately, two fishermen were missing after their boat sank off the western island of Palawan today when a weight fell and tilted the vessel. The remaining crew of 22 were rescued.

Ferries of all descriptions ply the waters between the philippines' 7,000-plus islands and safety standards are often lax.

Overcrowding is common and so are accidents.

In December 1987, a ferry sank after colliding with a tanker in the Sibuyan Sea in the central Philippines, killing about 4,400 people.

REUTERS ARB VC1808