MANILA: Four people died, 217 were rescued and 30 are missing after a passenger vessel capsized off Infanta, Quezon near Manila on Thursday, Navy Commander Commodore Adeluis Bordado told Arab News.
The MV Mercraft III reportedly left the port of Real, Quezon at around 8.30 a.m. en route to Polilio Island.
After an hour’s travel the ferry encountered large waves, and capsized near Barangay Dinahican in Infanta town at around 11.30 a.m.
The vessel has a capacity of 286 passengers. At the time of the incident, it was carrying 251 people. The coast guard and navy search-and-rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the area.
Bordado said search-and-rescue operations were called off at around 4.00 p.m. due to rough sea conditions.
In the wake of the incident, Sen. Grace Poe is urging the creation of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to ensure better safety standards to prevent disasters.
“The first order of the day is the immediate rescue of the passengers from the capsized ship,” she said.
“Rescue teams with adequate equipment should be deployed at once to ensure all lives are saved.” Authorities should investigate whether the cause was natural or man-made, Poe said.
4 dead, 30 missing after passenger vessel capsizes in Philippines
4 dead, 30 missing after passenger vessel capsizes in Philippines
UK upper house approves social media ban for under-16s
LONDON: Britain’s upper house of parliament voted Wednesday in favor of banning under?16s from using social media, raising pressure on the government to match a similar ban passed in Australia.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday he was not ruling out any options and pledged action to protect children, but his government wants to wait for the results of a consultation due this summer before legislating.
Calls have risen across the opposition and within the governing Labour party for the UK to follow Australia, where under-16s have been barred from social media applications since December 10.
The amendment from opposition Conservative lawmaker John Nash passed with 261 votes to 150 in the House of Lords, co?sponsored by a Labour and a Liberal Democrat peer.
“Tonight, peers put our children’s future first,” Nash said. “This vote begins the process of stopping the catastrophic harm that social media is inflicting on a generation.”
Before the vote, Downing Street said the government would not accept the amendment, which now goes to the Labour-controlled lower House of Commons. More than 60 Labour MPs have urged Starmer to back a ban.
Public figures including actor Hugh Grant urged the government to back the proposal, saying parents alone cannot counter social media harms.
Some child-protection groups warn a ban would create a false sense of security.
A YouGov poll in December found 74 percent of Britons supported a ban. The Online Safety Act requires secure age?verification for harmful content.
