MANILA, Philippines (1st UDPATE) - The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has yet to pinpoint the exact location of the ill-fated ferry Catalyn B, 3 days after the ferry sank with more than 70 passengers off Cavite province.

Lt. Commander Armand Balilo, PCG spokesman, said 2 Coast Guard vessels from Nueva Vizcaya and Pampanga were on their way to augment the search and rescue operations off Limbones Island.

Balilo said they have already tapped the PCG Auxiliary Brigade, which has deep sea diving capability, to locate the sunken ferry and the 24 passengers believed to be trapped inside the vessel.

A total of 46 people have been rescued while 3 bodies have been retrieved.

Catalyn B, a flimsy, wooden vessel taking holidaymakers to their home village on Lubang Island in Mindoro province, smashed into a fishing boat and sank northwest of Limbones Island at 2:25 a.m. Thursday.
 

It was carrying at total of 73 passengers, including crewmembers.
 

Balilo said they have also sent messages to all marine vessels to immediately notify the PCG in case they spot debris from the sunken ferry. The vessels were also advised to avoid the 20 nautical mile spot off Limbones Island where the search and rescue operations were being conducted.

Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo, PCG commandant, said the auxiliary group has the capability of going beyond the 150-feet limit of the PCG diving equipment.

Tamayo said that as of noon Saturday, the auxiliary group has started dropping deep sea search equipment. He said that initial estimates showed that the sunken ship could be lying at 228 feet or 38 fathoms of water.

He said 6 rescue ships of the PCG and the Philippine Navy, assisted by airborne operations, were scouring around the Limbones Island in search for the missing passengers.

"We hope we can get something out of these operations," Tamayo said.
 

Trapped
 

PCG chief Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said Friday that the 24 missing passengers may have been trapped inside the vessel after it smashed into a trawler off the coast of Limbones Island.

Rescuers said they would spend 10 days searching for survivors and would also look into the fitness and discipline of the crew involved in the crash.

"I would say that we should stay there for about 10 days and then find out if we can be successful in (finding) the remaining unaccounted passengers," Tamayo said in an interview.

On Friday, rescue boats combed sea waters of Bataan, Cavite and Batangas, hoping to find signs that might point to the exact location of the missing ferry and its passengers. The PCG said some of the missing passengers may have been swept out to sea.

Survivors warned that some of the missing could have been trapped inside the vessel.

"Usually people can survive afloat for two to three days in Philippine waters," Ensign Jhoe Barbasa, a Coast Guard spokeswoman said. "But other factors also play a big role. Hunger, injuries or ailments, like hypertension, and the weather, can affect that window." With a report from Edwin Sebidal, radio dzMM