Ferry sinks, at least 5 dead

       Five people were killed and dozens were left missing after a ferry carrying nearly 1,000 passengers sank in darkness off the southern Philippines yesterday, officials said.
       In the latest tragedy to hit the Philippines' notoriously dangerous maritime transport industry, survivors reported mass panic as the Superferry 9 began to tilt sharply.
       "They told us to stay calm but we could see no sign of rescue. Not for two hours," survivor Manuel Malicsi told radio station RMN.
       Nine hundred people on board were rescued but five were confirmed killed and by late yesterday afternoon 63 passengers and crew members remained unaccounted for, the Philippine coast guard said in a statement.
       "We are searching all possible areas [for the missing people]," coast guard chief Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said.
       "Navy ships [and] airforce aircraft are still scouring the area," he added.
       Adm Tamayo offered hope for the relatives of those still missing, saying some may have drifted away in life rafts or been picked up by private boats that took part in the rescue.
       Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro also said local officials were checking to see if any survivors had already reached shore.
       At Zamboanga City, stunned survivors disembarked from the boats that rescued them, many of them still half-naked and bare-foot after leaping into the water.
       The ferry issued a distress call around 3.30am yesterday,11km off the coast of Zamboanga peninsula, 19 hours after leaving General Santos City.
       Philippine Maritime administrator Elena Bautista warned that criminal charges would be filed if negligence were found to have caused the accident.