The death toll in Sunday's Philippines ship collision has reached 52 according to the Wall Street Journal.
"The sea was very calm and we could already see the lights at the pier," Navy Marshall Richard Pestillos told The Associated Press. "Then very suddenly ... there was a loud bang, then the grating sound of metal being peeled off."
The ship ran into a cargo ship Friday making a big hole in its front hull causing the power to go out, and sink with 870 passengers and crew members on board as the MV Thomas Aquinas headed toward the central Philippines municipality of Cebu city 350 miles south of Manila, the Associated Press reported.
Divers momentarily stopped their search Monday for the 70 people who went missing until thunderstorms, and the ocean's strong currents died down.
Seven-hundred and fifty passengers and crew members were brought to safety the AP reported. Sunday night saw no more indications of anymore survivors, but searchers not ready to give up all hope.
Pestillos said he gave out life jackets and put life rafts into the water prior to making his own flotation equipment which consisted of three life jackets attached to his naval service rifle. The device proved life saving for a woman he spotted in the sea. Pestillos, who also assisted seven other people including two toddlers near an overturned life boat, lost sight of the woman.
"I'm really praying that she also made it to the shore alive," he said.
According to the AP, improper ship maintenance, and very little enforcement of safety regulations for passengers while on the boat are early causes blamed for crashes in the waters surrounding the Phillippines in the past
As the ferry sank, Pestillos said he fell into water that reeked of oil and was hit by a falling life boat. He said he gave his homemade flotation device to a woman who needed it to stay afloat.
There were 754 passengers and 116 crew members on the ship when it crashed, with some still underneath it the AP reported based off hospital records. According to the AP, an investigation is expected to happen after search and rescue efforts are completed, to find out the cause and more details.
