The death toll from typhoon Fengshen went up to 622 in the Philippines on Thursday, according to the latest data released by the government.
Besides those confirmed dead due to the capsizal of an ill-fated ferry, the Philippine National Disaster Coordinating Council said Thursday morning that another 498 fatalities, mostly caused by flooding, have been reported from all parts of the typhoon affected areas.
The M/V Princes of the Stars capsized off the Philippines' central province of Romblon last Saturday at the height of the typhoon, with 862 passengers and crew on board. The last official casualty count from the ship was placed at 124, with only 56 survivors confirmed while most of the others are still missing, mostly feared dead.
Of the 498, 221 have been identified while 277 are unidentified, the disaster-relief agency said.
Search and rescue operations inside the ship and in neighboring coastal provinces are still going on, said Glen Rabonza, Office of Civil Defense Administrator of the disaster-relief agency.
"We are still on rescue mode. We may still find some who may have floated in their life vests. We are not giving up," Rabonza said.
More than 100 divers, including eight US military frogmen, are still trying to retrieve bodies from the overturn ferry, but poor visibility and strong undercurrents have hampered their efforts.
"It will take a month to retrieve all the bodies," said Jansen Benjamin, spokesman for the Coast Guard.
"Divers have sighted many bodies but have not been able to retrieve them as the entrances and exits are blocked. Some of the cadavers are tangled in wires," he added.
Data also showed that at least 59,616 houses were destroyed by the typhoon, while 118,851 were damaged.
Estimated damage to infrastructure and agriculture rose to 5.513 billion pesos (124 million US dollars), according to the Philippine National Disaster Coordinating Council.
Fengshen entered the Philippines from the eastern Samar island on the night of June 20 and exit through the western coast of Central Luzon after two days' onslaught on the archipelago.
(Xinhua News Agency June 27, 2008)
