Hope of finding survivors of a capsized ferry off the Philippines is fading. Rescuers prepared Monday to dive into the water... two days after the ship suddenly tilted and went belly up at the height of a powerful storm. SOT: "We are just waiting for the water to be more calm and that would enable our divers to penetrate, to try to penetrate the ship."Commander Luis Tuason, Philippine Coast Guard Divers hammed on a hollow part of the boat Sunday. But there was no response. If the upcoming underwater missions fail, crews may cut through the ferry as a last resort. But there's concern that a cargo of bunker oil could leak, turning the human disaster into an environmental one. It's believed 800 people were aboard. Only 38 ferry survivors have been found-- most of them drifted as sea for more than 24 hours before they were found. And several bodies have already washed ashore along with life jackets. Meantime, relatives of the missing are questioning why the ship left for a 20-hour trip late Friday with a typhoon approaching. The president of the Philippines has publicly said the ferry never should have departed. But the company said it sailed with coast guard approval. SOT: "Sulpicio Lines deeply mourns the tragic loss of lives and its good ship, Princess of Stars, last 21st June 2008, losing to the untamed fury of mother nature in an unfortunate tragedy that nobody, least of all the company, wanted to happen."Edgar Go, Vice-president of Sulpicio Lines The typhoon also caused devastation on land. The storm is being blamed for more than 160 deaths in flooded communities in the central part of that country ___ ___, The Associated Press.
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