The Philippine coast guard pressed its search today for 18 missing Filipino crewmen from a cargo ship that sank at the height of Typhoon Nock-Ten, which struck the country on Christmas Day, spoiling holiday celebrations in Asia’s largest Catholic nation.
Coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo said 14 other crewmen have been rescued and one died after the M/V Starlite Atlantic sank off Mabini town in Batangas province, where the powerful typhoon passed on Monday on its way out of the country into the South China Sea.
The ship sought cover in an anchorage area as the typhoon passed and its crew decided to move to safer waters but encountered huge waves and fierce winds, causing it to sink, Balilo said, adding that another cargo ship ran aground in Mabini.
At least seven people died, including the sunken ship’s crewman and villagers who drowned from flooding or were pinned by fallen trees or a collapsed wall in Albay and Quezon provinces.