The Philippine Coast Guard has confirmed that the death toll of a passenger vessel incident that occurred off Basilan province in the southern Philippines late last month has risen to 62.
Coast guard divers have continued to recover additional bodies from the waters near Basilan's Baluk-Baluk Island as the search and retrieval effort following the sinking of the Ro-Pax ferry Trisha Kerstin 3 entered its fourth week.
Only 17 of the vessel's occupants now remain unaccounted for while the latest survivor tally of 293 is unchanged.
The coast guard emphasised that all figures that were given were consolidated through the joint validation efforts of the coast guard, the Philippine National Police, local disaster response officials, and the families of those who perished in the tragedy.
Trisha Kerstin 3 suffered water ingress and sank under calm sea conditions off Baluk-Baluk Island in the early morning (local time) of January 26.
According to one survivor, the vessel was already listing noticeably even before it left port on its ill-fated voyage.
The same survivor added that the captain was aware that the ferry was listing but had nonetheless decided to proceed with their scheduled voyage from Zamboanga City to Jolo in Sulu province on the night of January 25.
Acting Philippine Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez had said earlier that charges will be filed against Trisha Kerstin 3's owner Aleson Shipping Lines as well as a number of personnel from the coast guard and the Maritime Industry Authority in connection with the incident.
Lopez said that the ferry had been permitted to sail from Zamboanga City to Sulu on January 25 despite "glaring safety deficiencies" and that investigators found evidence pointing to overloading.
