Philippines ferry crash: Search for survivors
Many people are still looking for relatives who were onboard the ferry
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Search teams have resumed efforts to find dozens of people still missing after a ferry and a cargo ship collided in the Philippines.
At least 34 people died when the MV Thomas Aquinas sank off the central port of Cebu on Friday with more than 800 people onboard, officials said.
Poor weather has disrupted attempts to send down divers into the wreckage.
A navy spokesman said it was possible survivors could be found inside air pockets, although chances were slim.
The number of people officially listed as missing was reduced on Sunday to 85 from 170 due to tallying issues, Agence France-Presse news agency reported.
More than 600 people have been rescued since the collision, which happened in calm waters around 2km (1.2 miles) from the shore.
Coastguard and military vessels helped with the search operation, but it has been hampered by rough seas.
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Navy spokesman Lt Cdr Gregory Fabic told AFP the weather had prevented divers from reaching the interior of the sunken vessel, where many of those missing were believed trapped.
"It is possible that there are air pockets in its compartments and there might be survivors," he said.
"There is still hope that there might just be survivors there."
Suspended
Survivors said hundreds of passengers jumped into the ocean as the ferry began taking on water and listing on Friday evening. The crew distributed life jackets.
Many were asleep when the crash happened and others struggled to find their way in the dark, reports said.
One survivor, Jerwin Agudong, said he and other passengers jumped overboard in front of the cargo vessel.
"It seems some people were not able to get out," Mr Agudong told radio station DZBB. "I pity the children. We saw dead bodies on the side, and some being rescued."
It is believed 58 babies were among the passengers on board but it is unclear how many of them died.
Many of the survivors were sick from swallowing seawater and oil that is thought to have spilled from the ferry.
Life rafts floated alongside the cargo ship after the ferry sank Fishermen were covered in oil as they helped with the search Coast guard workers continued to look for bodies and any remaining survivors The damage to the cargo ship was clearly visible Continue reading the main story previous slide next slide
A coast guard official told reporters that the cargo ship, Sulpicio Express 7, had 36 crew members on board, but it did not sink.
It emerged on Saturday that Span Asia Carrier Corp, the company that owns the cargo ship, also owned the ferry involved in the world's worst maritime disaster in peacetime, which occurred in the Philippines in December 1987.
Continue reading the main story PHILIPPINE FERRY DISASTERS 1987: Dona Paz ferry sinks after colliding with a fuel tanker, 4,341 people die.
2008: The ferry MV Princess of the Stars capsizes during a typhoon, killing nearly 800.
More than 4,000 people died when the Dona Paz ferry collided with a tanker.
Maritime accidents are quite frequent in the Philippine archipelago because of tropical storms, badly maintained passenger boats and weakly enforced safety regulations.
Passengers on the ferry involved in Friday's collision had embarked at Nasipit in the southern province of Agusan del Sur.
The 11,000 tonne ferry was 40 years old, and operated by a Chinese-owned company called 2Go, reports the BBC's South East Asia Correspondent Jonathan Head.
The company became the largest ferry operator in the Philippines three years ago, following a merger of several smaller firms, our correspondent adds.
Karte der Philippinen
 Bei einem Fährunglück am Freitag sind nahe der Hafenstadt Talisay in der philippinischen Provinz Cebu nach Angaben von Behörden mindestens 34 Menschen ums Leben gekommen. 

Freitag gegen 21:00 Uhr Ortszeit kollidierte die Fähre „St. Thomas of Aquinas“ mit dem Frachtschiff „Sulpicio Express 7“ und sank daraufhin innerhalb von 30 Minuten. Mehr als 620 der Passagiere, die sich auf der Fähre befunden hätten, seien jedoch rechtzeitig aus dem Wasser gerettet worden, so die Küstenwache. Laut Konteradmiral Luis Tuason sei es wegen des schnellen Sinken des Schiffs wahrscheinlich, dass viele Menschen in dr Fähre untergegangen seien.  Ursprünglich wurden 170 Menschen vermisst, diese Zahl wurde von den Behörden nach Berechnungsfehlern auf 85 gesenkt. Starker Seegang erschwert den Einsatz der Rettungs- und Suchtrupps, wie die Polizei mitteilt. Es ist unklar, wie viele Passagiere sich an Bord befanden. Der Schiffseigner 2Go Group spricht von 841 Passagieren. Verkehrsminister Abaya und die Küstenwache sprechen wiederum von 715 Passagieren und 116 Besatzungsmitgliedern. Die 36 Menschen, die sich an Bord des Frachters befanden, blieben alle unversehrt. Die Unfallursache ist unterdessen immer noch unbekannt. 

Die 11.000 Tonnen schwere, 40 Jahre alte RoRo-Fähre war von der südphilippinischen Provinz Agusan del Norte über Cebu unterwegs in die philippinische Hauptstadt Manila. Das Schiff ist in dem aus mehr als 7.100 Inseln bestehenden Inselstaat Philippinen das Haupttransportmittel. Unfälle sind wegen der mangelnden Sicherheitsstandards oder Überbeladung von Schiffen keine Seltenheit. Das Schiff gehörte dem chinesischen Unternehmen 2Go Group, das nach dem Zusammenschluss verschiedener kleinerer Betreiber seit drei Jahren der größte Betreiber von Fähren auf den Philippinen ist.