Ship Sinks in Philippines; 266 People Missing

Rescuers battled heavy seas in search of survivors of a ship carrying 402 people that sank before dawn today in stormy waters south of Manila.

The Philippine navy said it had confirmed that 136 people had been rescued from the Princess of the Orient, including 14 people who were picked up in very rough waters by a fishing boat.

The owner of a seaside resort told a Manila radio station that his staff had sighted rescue boats off the coast shooting flares in the air. Navy rescue ships were sent to the area, near Fortune Island, 75 miles south of Manila.

A colonel who was aboard the ship telephoned his aide on shore, pleading desperately for help, the aide told a radio station.

Tomas Banzon, 25, a survivor picked up by the fishing boat, said he was sleeping about 10 p.m. when he heard shouting and felt his bed tilting. He put on a life jacket, rushed outside and jumped into the water, along with others.

The ship sank near Fortune Island off Batangas province, navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Salvador Cuba said.

Cuba said an official of Sulpicio Lines, which owns the ship, told naval authorities that the ship left Manila for Cebu in the central Philippines about 8 p.m. Friday.

A few hours later the ship reported that it was listing near Fortune Island and lost radio contact with its office in Manila about 12:30 a.m. today.

The officer reported that there were 300 passengers, including seven children, and 102 crew members aboard, Cuba said.

Rescue efforts were continuing in very rough seas.