‘I Saw the Sea in Flames,’ Survivor Says; 1,500 Dead : Only 26 Rescued in Philippines

“I saw the sea in flames” before the Dona Paz sank without a trace, a shocked survivor said today as air and sea searchers found none of at least 1,500 people presumed killed when the crowded inter-island passenger ship collided with an oil tanker.

Only 26 people--many of them badly burned--were plucked from the fiery waters Sunday night immediately after the maritime disaster, the biggest peacetime ship tragedy since the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, when an equal number perished.

“We covered about 100 miles of sea area, and except for maybe a piece of driftwood or two, we saw absolutely nothing as far as a shipwreck, oil spill, signs of life or signs of an accident,” said Staff Sgt. Cliff Davis, a spotter on a U.S. Air Force search helicopter.

The Dona Paz was sailing through the calm water, running lights gleaming, taking at least 1,500 people to Manila for Christmas when it collided with the Philippine oil tanker Victor.

110 Miles South of Manila

Both the 2,215-ton Dona Paz and 629-ton Victor, with 13 crewmen aboard, went down after the collision 110 miles south of Manila in a busy shipping channel off Mindoro Island.

Panic-stricken passengers screamed the names of loved ones as smoke and fire engulfed the passenger ship, and the ones who saved themselves jumped into the blazing, oil-slickened water.

“I went to a window to see what happened, and I saw the sea in flames,” Paquito Osabel told reporters in a Manila hospital. “I shouted to my companions to get ready. ‘There’s a fire!’ I said.”

The last moments Osabel spent with his sister and three nieces was when they had settled cross-legged on the floor on one of the crowded ship’s three decks. He was taking the women to spend Christmas with his family in Manila.

It was 10 p.m. Sunday, 18 hours after the five boarded the Dona Paz at Tacloban City on Leyte island. In six more hours, it was to dock in Manila.

Toll Could Double

The inter-island passenger ship carried 1,493 passengers and crew, according to the owners, Sulpicio Shipping Lines, but it was so crowded with holiday travelers that up to four people shared individual cots. Some survivors reported overhearing crew members say about 3,000 people were on board. If so, the death toll could double.

“The fire spread rapidly and engulfed our ship. There were flames everywhere. People were screaming and jumping,” Osabel said. “The smoke was terrible. We couldn’t see each other, and it was dark. I could see flames on the water below, but I jumped anyway.”

Osabel, 42, said he never again saw his sister, Alejandra, 56, or his nieces Evangelina, Anna Liza, and Loreta.

Another inter-island ship, the Don Claudio, picked up 24 Dona Paz passengers and two tanker crewmen.

Survivors said both vessels had their lights on, and none recalled hearing a warning horn. Both captains were lost.

No Americans Aboard

Other survivors brought to Manila spoke of hurling themselves into a blazing sea and swimming past bodies of fellow passengers.

“After jumping from the ship, I saw the vessel engulfed in fire,” Arnel Galang, 18, said. “It rotated, maybe twice, and I saw it slowly sinking.”

No Americans were believed to be aboard the Dona Paz, the U.S. Embassy said.

Ship travel is customary for Filipinos who cannot afford air fares in a country of 7,100 islands. Vessels are frequently overloaded, with passengers sleeping on deck.

Passenger manifests do not include those who buy tickets after boarding, and shipping sources say inter-island vessels often carry far more than are listed on the documents.