Pesticide found in capsized Philippine ferry, retrieval operations halted
27/6/2008 17:46
Rescue and retrieval operations inside an overturn Philippine ferry were
halted today following reports that the vessel was carrying a pesticide cargo
besides 862 people, government officials said.
In a briefing at the
Philippine Department of National Defense, Vice President Noli de Castro said
the government ordered the stoppage in the rescue and retrieval efforts in the
ill-fated MV Princess of the Stars after receiving reports that a cargo of
endosulfan, a chemical used in pineapple plantations, had been loaded in the
ship.
The ferry capsized off the Philippines' central province of Romblon
last Saturday at the height of typhoon Fengshen, with 751 passengers and 111
crew members on board. The last official casualty count from the ship was placed
at 124, with only 56 survivors confirmed while most of the others are still
missing, mostly feared dead.
Rescuers said they spotted "many" bodies
floating inside the ferry, but till now only 15 have been retrieved given the
poor visibility and the debris blocking corridors there.
"We aborted the
retrieval operations because of the pesticide inside the ship," De Castro
said.
For his part, Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez Jr said the
vessel was found to be carrying 10,000 metric tons of the highly-toxic
pesticide, and that authorities have shifted efforts to containing the chemical
and retrieving the shipment.
"Search and rescue is now stopped because the
government just found out that 10,000 MT of highly toxic insecticides inside the
MV Princess of the Stars. President (Gloria Macapagal) Arroyo instructed the
NDCC (National Disaster Coordinating Council) to focus efforts in trying to
contain the chemical and carefully retrieve the 40-foot container so as not to
contaminate the environment," Golez said.
De Castro said that so far, there
has been no indication that the pesticide container had been opened, although he
said that rescue workers should not have been allowed to enter the vessel had
they known that it was carrying a 40-foot container of pesticide.
De Castro
said the government mulling action against Sulpicio Lines for withholding
information about the pesticide shipment, saying the information on pesticide
presence came from the Department of Transportation and Communication.
"What
is clear is that since day one, they have not disclosed that there is pesticide
inside the vessel," De Castro said.
For her part, Transportation
Undersecretary Elena Bautista, head of a task force looking into the incident,
said they have recalled the divers and are awaiting advice from higher
authorities on how to proceed with the rescue and retrieval efforts.
Bautista
said their concern is now the health of divers who have spent days searching for
survivors and bodies inside the ship.
"We recalled the divers for the moment.
They will wait for advice from Manila on what to do next," Bautista said.
So
far, she said there has been no indication of fish kill in the area, but she
nonetheless advised residents not to eat fish taken from the area.
The
advisory came a day after the country's health department sought to allay fears
that the fish taken from Romblon may not be fit for human consumption.
"We
advise people not to eat fish there until lab test results come out," Bautista
said.
Bautista said she has talked to experts who will dive into the water to
assess where to bore a hole to find the 40-foot container van, and extract
it.
"Hopefully we can start it Saturday afternoon," Bautista said, adding a
barge with a crane has been sent to the site from Metro Manila for the
extraction.
Xinhua
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