Bodies pulled from sea as Philippine ferry toll rises to 29

Manila: Eleven more bodies were pulled from waters off the southern Philippines on Thursday, the coast guard said, days after a ferry capsized and thr...

Manila: Eleven more bodies were pulled from waters off the southern Philippines on Thursday, the coast guard said, days after a ferry capsized and threw hundreds of people into the sea.

The discovery brought the confirmed death toll to 29, officials said in a statement, three days after the MV Trisha Kerstin 3 went down off southwestern Mindanao in the early hours of Monday.

The ferry was carrying at least 344 passengers and crew, most of whom were rescued in the immediate aftermath.

Rescuer Yushrina Julkanain told AFP on Thursday the latest casualties had mostly been found in the vicinity of Baluk-Baluk Island, near where the ferry sank.

"They have been turned over to the coast guard," she said, adding that some had been discovered by fishermen.