THE owner and crew of MB Nirvana, the passenger ferry that capsized near the port of Ormoc and left at least 60 dead, have been charged with murder, according to the Agence France Press.
The Philippine National Police filed the murder charges against 19 people, including ship operator Jorge Bong Zarco, captain Warren Oliviero, and 17 crew members, regional police head Chief Superintendent Asher Dolina told the AFP.
The charges were filed late on Friday.
Dolina said initial police investigation with survivors showed that the vessel abruptly turned in waters off the central port of Ormoc on Thursday that had caused it to capsize.
As of Sunday, the confirmed death toll reached 61, according to radio reports citing the Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.
DZMM reports said that three more fatalities were recovered Saturday (July 4) night.
The bodies of the victims were to be brought to Camotes Island by a Philippine Coast Guard ship as of Sunday morning.
At least 45 coffins were taken aboard the ship. Some of the grieving relatives who went to Ormoc to identify the dead, also boarded the ship bound for Camotes Island.
