Oil spill fears complicate Philippine ferry search

Although divers found no sign of life when they inspected the capsized Princess of the Stars off central Sibuyan Island, the country's vice-president Noli de Castro said he was "still hopeful."

At a press conference on the island de Castro said some people may have survived in an air pocket inside the ship.

"Who knows, we might see a miracle. We still believe in miracles," he said.

But he said one of the problems hampering the recovery operations was fuel inside the ferry's tanks.

"If we siphon off the fuel the ferry could tilt and fall over (spilling oil), complicating rescue and recovery efforts further," he said.

De Castro appealed to the public for patience, saying that the recovery operations "will not be as quick as we thought."

"The important thing is we do things correctly," he said.

"If we do it quickly, there might be a bigger disaster," de Castro told reporters after inspecting the rescue operations.

The ferry is sitting upside down on a coral reef off Sibuayn Island with the bottom of the hull exposed above the water.

AFP reporters on the scene said he saw oil spill booms being positioned around the ferry as divers began removing bodies.

De Castro said additional diving supplies had been brought in and that they hoped to eventually deploy 40 divers including possibly 10 from a US Navy ship that has joined the rescue efforts.

Philippine civil defence chief Anthony Golez said 57 people had survived Saturday's sinking, one of the worst maritime disasters in the country's history.

According to reports from survivors, many had little time to react when the vessel, trapped when Typhoon Fengshen suddenly changed path, began tilting and then quickly capsized.