4 more cadavers from M/V Trisha Kerstin recovered —PCG

The number of deaths in the sinking of the MV Trisha Kerstin 3 roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ferry near Baluk-Baluk Island in Basilan has increased to 33.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Saturday said that 4 more cadavers were recovered during its search and rescue operations on Friday.

"The Coast Guard District Southwestern Mindanao reported that the joint Search and Rescue (SAR) team, composed of government agencies, local government units, and fisherfolk volunteers, recovered two additional cadavers at around 5:30PM yesterday, January 30, 2026," PCG said in a statement.

"With this development, a total of four cadavers were recovered yesterday, bringing the cumulative number of fatalities to 33 as of January 30, 2026," it added. 

The PCG said that the number of survivors remains at 316.

On Thursday, 11 bodies were found by residents, fishermen, relatives, and Coast Guard personnel off Baluk-Baluk Island.

Of this number, at least nine bodies were claimed by their kin, Basilan authorities said.

The PCG, for its part, reiterated it cited the ship manifesto on the figures and raised the possibility that some passengers boarded the vessel even despite not being included in the document.

Meanwhile, the PCG said BRP Melchora Aquino has been deployed to intensify the search and rescue operations on the victims of MV Trisha Kerstin 3,which sank in the waters off Pilas Island, Basilan on January 26. —VAL, GMA Integrated News