A body was retrieved inside the air-conditioned accommodation area of the sunken ferry MV Trisha Kerstin 3 off Baluk-Baluk Island in Basilan on Sunday, Feb. 22, as underwater diving operations continue to find 14 remaining missing passengers.

PCG spokesperson Capt. Noemie Cayabyab said the recovery of the cadaver pushed the death toll 65. The number of survivors remains at 293.

“The diving operations are ongoing. The number of missing persons is a live data so it may change as diving operations continue,” Cayabyab said.

She noted that intact windows in the air-conditioned accommodation area made the entry of the technical wreck divers into the ferry difficult.

“Initially, one of their concerns, particularly in the air-conditioned accommodation area, was that the windows were still intact, which made it difficult for them to penetrate. The last individuals recovered from inside the vessel were found in the air-conditioned accommodation area,” she said.

The PCG deployed 19 technical wreck divers to scour the ferry for underwater wreckage. The divers take advantage of “slack time” to enter the vessel.

“Our technical divers take advantage of what they call ‘slack time.’ During this slack time, they maximize the opportunity to conduct diving operations because this is the period when there is little to no current underwater,” Cayabyab said.

The divers stay underwater for nearly an hour and they descend to depths of about 60 to 65 meters each day.

Cayabyab said the interior of the vessel poses serious risks as vehicles inside have partially collapsed and debris has piled up in several areas.

“Based on our reports from our technical divers, they have already searched around 75 percent of the inside of the vessel,” she noted.

“But the intention of the technical divers is to search the entire vessel to check if there are still individuals trapped inside. Whatever is found inside the ship will form part of our investigation,” the PCG spokesperson added.