Difficulties in removing bodies floating inside a ferry that capsized last weekend have forced divers to take in heavy weights to help maneuver them out of the vessel, Philippine officials said Thursday. The bodies have floated to the top of the submerged cabins and compartments on the seven-story ferry, coast guard Commodore Luis Tuason said. Divers are having trouble pulling the bloated bodies through narrow, debris-filled corridors to exit the vessel. It remains unclear how many of the 850-plus passengers and crew were trapped when the 23,824-ton Princess of the Stars suddenly listed and went belly up in a half hour or less during a powerful typhoon Saturday, leaving just the tip of the bow jutting from the water. Only 56 survivors have been found, while 124 bodies have been recovered that washed ashore or were floating in the sea, some in life jackets, coast guard Commander Danilo Avila said. The aftermath of Typhoon Fengshen kept rescue workers away until calm conditions Tuesday allowed divers to slither inside the ferry for the first time. More than 100 divers, including eight US military frogmen, were at the site, some working through the night Wednesday in the hope of that some passengers could have found an air pocket and survived. Tuason said coast guard rescuers were instructed Thursday to take photos of the decomposing bodies to help in the identification process. He initially indicated the bodies were being photographed inside the ferry, but later said the process had not yet begun. The coast guard later rescinded the order on instructions from higher-level officials, apparently due to sensitivities over the issue. The ferry disaster could raise Typhoon Fengshen's death toll to more than 1,300, with 329 people confirmed dead from flooding and landslides and more than 200 missing. Relatives have questioned why the ship was allowed to leave Manila late Friday for a 20-hour trip to Cebu with a typhoon approaching. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered a thorough probe and said she hoped to find ways to avoid similar accidents in the future. Sulpicio Lines said the ferry sailed with coast guard approval.
