“Based on the account of some survivors, the waters in the area were rough at the time,” Philippine Coast Guard spokeswoman Noemie Cayabyab said in a televised interview, according to an AFP report.
A Facebook video by Basilan Governor Mujiv Hataman showed survivors wrapped in blankets as they disembarked from a rescue boat.
Rescuers have been overwhelmed by the influx of survivors, Basilan emergency responder Ronalyn Perez told AFP.
“The challenge really is the number of patients that are coming in. We are short-staffed at the moment,” Perez said.
Poor maintenance and overloading have been blamed for past ferry accidents in the Philippines. Despite this, many Filipinos still travel by ferry due to its low costs.
In May 2023, 28 people died after a passenger ferry caught fire. The fatalities included three children, among them a six-month-old baby.
The year before that, at least seven people died after a fire in a high-speed ferry carrying 134 people.