Sunken RP ship stays underwater

Sunken RP ship stays underwater

MANILA (UPI): A Philippine cruise liner that sank after colliding last month with a Singaporean vessel will remain underwater as the owners said yesterday they do not have the equipment to recover the sunken ship and the 26 bodies still trapped inside.

The cruise liner MV Cebu City, which had 598 passengers and crew during the Dec. 2 sea mishap, collided with the Kota Suria owned by the Pacific International Lines of Singapore.

William Lines, owner of the ill-fated MV Cebu City, said a total of 501 passengers and crew survived the collision, 71 have been confirmed dead, while 26 are still missing and presumed to be trapped inside the ship.

"We do not have the equipment and facilities to recover the ship," said Telesforo Solda, spokesperson of William Lines. "The ship and the trapped bodies will most likely stay there."

Solda told relatives of the 26 missing passengers that they will receive the 50,000-peso (US$2,083) death insurance as long as the names of the victims appear on the ship's manifest.