A passenger ferry carrying more than 350 people sank early Monday off Basilan province in the southern Philippines, with the reported death toll and number of missing differing across updates from officials carried by multiple outlets. The Philippine Coast Guard said rescue operations were ongoing after the MV Trisha Kerstin 3 sent a distress signal around 1:50 a.m., several hours after leaving Zamboanga City.
Reports citing coast guard commander Romel Dua said at least 316 people had been rescued, with 15 confirmed dead and 28 still unaccounted for. In a later update carried by The Straits Times, the most recent tally cited 317 rescued, 18 confirmed dead, and 24 still missing.
Distress call and route details
The Philippine Coast Guard said the MV Trisha Kerstin 3 issued its distress signal around 1:50 a.m., a bit over four hours after departing the Port of Zamboanga City, on the southwestern tip of Mindanao. Basilan emergency responder Ronalyn Perez said the ferry was traveling from Zamboanga City to Jolo Island when the incident happened.
The ship went down about five kilometers east of Baluk-Baluk Island, part of Basilan’s chain of islands off the Zamboanga peninsula. The Straits Times also described the seas as choppy, and quoted a Philippine Coast Guard spokeswoman saying survivors reported rough waters in the area at the time.
Rescue efforts and survivor response
Romel Dua said a coast guard aircraft was being sent to support the operation, and that the Navy and Air Force had also deployed assets. Survivors were being transported to coast guard stations in Zamboanga and Isabela City, according to Dua.
Local responders described challenges caused by the sudden influx of survivors. Perez said teams were short-staffed, and that at least 18 people had been taken to a local hospital. The Straits Times reported that one rescuer in Isabela City said their office received more than 100 calls from worried family members, while the list of names was still not final because the search and retrieval operation continued.
Videos described in reports showed survivors being pulled from the water and receiving medical care, and a live Facebook video included people shouting for help in the dark. The Straits Times also reported video released by Basilan’s governor showing survivors wrapped in blankets and placed on gurneys, while bodies were carried in body bags.
Investigation ordered; cause not yet stated
Dua said the cause of the sinking could not be determined at that point, and that authorities had been instructed to begin a marine casualty investigation. He also said the immediate priority remained the rescue operation.
In its statement, the coast guard said the ferry had not been overloaded. The Straits Times reported that Aleson Shipping Lines said it was working “tirelessly” in close coordination with the coast guard.
Past accidents on similar routes
The Straits Times reported the MV Trisha Kerstin 3 is a 44-meter, triple-decker vessel, and said it went down on nearly the same route where 31 people died in 2023 after a fire on the Lady Mary Joy 3 ferry. It also reported both ships were owned by locally based Aleson Shipping Lines.
Several reports noted the Philippines’ long history of maritime disasters involving inter-island ferries serving an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands. They also said many people rely on low-cost vessels that are often described as poorly regulated, despite regular accidents. The Straits Times cited past tragedies including a 2015 ferry capsizing off Leyte Island that resulted in more than 60 deaths and the 1987 Doña Paz collision that killed more than 4,000 people, described as the world’s worst peacetime disaster at sea.
