MANILA, Philippines ? No survivors or bodies have been found more than 36 hours after a wooden-hulled ferry sank off the Limbones Island in Cavite after it hit a deep-sea fishing vessel, raising fears that passengers were trapped inside the ship.

The Coast Guard chief, Adm. Wilfredo Tamayo, said the MV Catalyn B sank in 69 meters (228 feet) of water, a depth beyond the reach by Coast Guard divers, who can only go down 48 meters (150 feet).

The search-and-rescue operation, which will last for 10 days, resumed at dawn yesterday, but as of 4 p.m., the teams found no fatalities or survivors.

?There have been debris, slippers, and toys, but no bodies. We have widened the search but negative bodies,? Tamayo said at a press briefing Friday.

Tamayo said the Coast Guard had sent three ships and a helicopter to scour the waters off the coast of Cavite.

The Coast Guard also called on private ships in the area to look out for bodies and survivors of the sea tragedy.

Forty-six survivors were fished out of the water on Thursday, along with four bodies, out of a total of 73 people?59 passengers and 14 crew members?on the passenger ferry.

The 79-ton Catalyn, a flimsy wooden vessel taking holidaymakers to Lubang Island in Occidental Mindoro, smashed into 369-ton FV Anatalia, a metal-hulled boat, at 2:25 a.m. on Christmas eve.

Tamayo expressed fear that many of the missing passengers were trapped in the ferry, which the Coast Guard said sank within minutes of impact.

?We started listing within two minutes of the collision,? said 27-year-old Erwin Broncano, one of the survivors.

?There was no warning. There was no order to abandon ship. I ran upstairs to rouse the other passengers there. I grabbed a life jacket and did not even have time to tie it properly before I jumped out,? he told local radio.

Scuba diving

?The wind was up and there was a strong current, but the skies were clear,? said Broncano, whose two female cousins and a niece are among the missing.

The location of the sunken ferry has put it out of the Coast Guard?s reach, as the agency has yet to complete its deep-sea diving facilities, according to Tamayo.

?The Philippine Coast Guard capability is 120 to 150 feet. Our people dive to scout the area, but to reach the ship, we need more capability,? he said.

?We can only do scuba diving, not deep-sea diving,? Tamayo added.

The Coast Guard has a decompression chamber for deep-sea divers in BRP Pampanga, but lacks communication and search equipment that will allow divers to conduct a search safely, said Coast Guard spokesperson Arman Balilo.

Balilo described the waters off Limbones Island as ?dangerous.? The site is deep and mainly used by large ships going into Manila Bay.

Salvor firms decline

Tamayo said he had inquired into the services of major salvor firms to inspect the sunken boat and recover the bodies inside it.

The salvor firms declined to offer their services because they have no capability to conduct deep-sea operations, he said.

?If they can?t do it, how can you expect the same from us?? Tamayo said.

Despite the absence of bodies and survivors, Coast Guard officials said they were hopeful that survivors would surface in the next few days.

?Usually people can survive afloat for two to three days in Philippine waters,? said Ensign Jhoe Barbasa.

?But other factors also play a big role. Hunger, injuries or ailments, like hypertension, and the weather, can affect that window,? she added.

Anatalia docked at Pier 13 on Thursday night. ?I have ordered the port state officer not to let that vessel leave,? Tamayo said.

P1,000 per survivor

A relative of one of the passengers said representatives of San Nicolas Shipping Lines, the owner of Catalyn, gave survivors P1,000 each and asked them to sign a blank paper on Thursday.

Ricafort Magat said San Nicolas did not explain what the paper was for. He noted that around 20 people signed it.

The Coast Guard has yet to determine the events leading to the collision, but initial investigation showed that lack of communication and failure to observe maritime protocols led to the disaster.

Anatalia, according to Coast Guard officials, was supposed to pass on Catalyn?s left side to give passage to the ferry. But the fishing boat continued straight on its course, which directly blocked Catalyn?s path.

Anatalia, bound for the Navotas Fish Port from Palawan, only suffered minor damage on its right side.

Inquiry in January

Tamayo said the Board of Marine Inquiry would begin hearings in January to determine the cause of the collision and the liabilities of the involved ships.

Since there were no reports of engine trouble or bad weather during the predawn collision, Tamayo said that ?obviously? someone failed to observe nautical rules on rights of way, leading to the disaster.

?We?re also looking at conditions of the watch at the navigating bridge?whether the crew or the captain is in good physical condition, whether they (were) drunk or tired or maybe they were not awake at that time,? he added.