A ferry carrying approximately 350 passengers suffered a serious maritime accident that left it adrift and subsequently sank in the waters of the southern Philippines, leaving a preliminary balance of at least 18 people dead and 24 missing.
VIDEO | Maritime tragedy in the Philippines: ferry with 350 passengers capsizes and leaves at least 18 deadhttps://t.co/6QpnUH1uKW pic.twitter.com/G3pESTLAd4
— El Imparcial de Oaxaca (@ImparcialOaxaca) January 26, 2026
The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday, January 26, around 1:50 a.m. When the ferry M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 issued a distress signal four hours after leaving the port of Zamboanga City, on the island of Mindanao, bound for the island of Joló.
RESCUE OPERATION AGAINST THE CLOCK
The Philippine Coast Guard reported that as of the last report, 317 people were rescued alive, while search efforts for the missing passengers continue. The ferry sank about five kilometers east of the island of Baluk-Baluk, in the province of Basilan.
Emergency teams, local fishermen and maritime authorities participated in the rescue of survivors. Many of which were located floating in the sea during the early hours of the morning.
OVERSIZED MEDICAL SERVICES
Ronalyn Perez, a rescue worker in Basilán, pointed out that relief teams face difficulties due to the simultaneous arrival of a large number of survivors.
“The main challenge is the number of patients who are arriving. For now we have few staff,” he told the AFP agency. At least 18 people were taken to hospitals to receive medical attention.
DESPERATE IMAGES AND CAUSE STILL UNKNOWN
In videos spread on social networks, cries for help can be heard from people floating in the sea, in complete darkness. Meanwhile, they waited to be rescued.
The Coast Guard commander, identified as Dua, reported that the causes of the shipwreck have not yet been determined. Authorities are investigating whether the sinking was due to mechanical failure, human error or some other circumstance. Preliminarily, it was ruled out that the ferry was overloaded.
A RECURRING TRAGEDY IN AN ISLAND COUNTRY
The Philippines, an archipelago with more than 116 million inhabitants, has a recurring history of maritime accidents due to the high dependence on inter-island ferry transportation. In 2023, more than 30 people died after a ferry fire in the south of the country.
The new shipwreck once again puts maritime safety, supervision protocols and emergency response capacity on highly traveled routes at the center of the debate.
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