7 dead as ferry boat sinks in Philippines

The Philippine coast guard said a passenger boat sank in the country’s south. Seven people drowned and five are missing. The boat was carrying 27 people when it went down before dawn yesterday near its destination of Bongao, the capital of Tawi Tawi province. The boat came from Sipangkot Island, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) away. The coast guard says 15 people have been rescued and the search continues for five others still missing. It wasn’t clear what caused the sinking. Monsoon rains and strong winds are buffeting large parts of the Philippines. Separately, Philippines said yesterday it had deported 279 Taiwanese accused of running a multi-million-dollar online scam that prompted stepped-up airport screening to guard against criminal gangs. The Taiwanese were put on two chartered flights on Wednesday to Taipei, where they face prosecution, immigration spokeswoman Antonette Mangrobang said. Eight-seven mainland Chinese who were caught with them in a major bust across Manila last month are also due to be deported to China, she said. Members of the gang operated out of several Manila homes, used the Internet to contact mostly elderly victims in Taiwan and China and forced them to transfer their savings into a bank account they controlled, police said. The suspects posed as Taiwanese or Chinese authorities and duped the victims into believing their bank accounts were being used by terrorists, they added. Filipino police busted the group’s operation last month following a tip-off from Chinese and Taiwanese authorities. The foreigners were detained in a gymnasium at a Manila police training facility after their arrest, where one Taiwanese died and dozens of others had fallen ill due to poor conditions. From: Arabsnews