BY PAUL ALEXANDER Rescuers considered boring a hole in an overturned ferry on Monday in a desperate attempt to find survivors among more than 800 missing passengers and crew, after Typhoon Fengshen carved its deadly swath through the Philippines. Hopes dwindled by the hour that large groups of survivors might be found in areas where communications were cut off by the weekend storm that left at least 163 people dead in flooded communities. Divers rapped on the hull of the 23,824-ton Princess of Stars but heard no response from inside. Only 38 wave-battered survivors have been found so far, including 28 who drifted at sea for more than 24 hours in life jackets before they were found Sunday about 130 km to the north in Mulanay township, in eastern Quezon province. But bodies were washing up on shore to the west and northwest, too. The Coast Guard said it was checking a survivor's report that at least one group of people, some dead, some alive, had been spotted bobbing in the sea. A number of Coast Guard and Navy ships swarmed to the area but were largely kept at bay by big waves in the still-roiling waters. A US Navy ship carrying search-and-rescue helicopters was en route from Okinawa, and a P-3 maritime surveillance plane also was being dispatched. Eleandro Madrona, a local congressman who flew over the ferry on Monday afternoon, reported seeing only a tugboat nearby because of the conditions. "I was thinking, where could these 700 people be?" Mr Madrona said. "There's no operation there at this time, but the search and rescue is ongoing in nearby islands." Officials initially reported 747 passengers and crew were aboard the ferry, but said on Monday that it was carrying about 100 more. While some relatives tearfully waited for news, others were angry that the ship was allowed to leave Manila late Friday for a 20-hour trip to Cebu with a typhoon approaching. Debate began anew on safe-sailing rules in a country prone to storms, Fengshen was the seventh typhoon in 2008, and dependent on ferries to get around the sprawling archipelago. The ferry's owner, Sulpicio Lines, said the ship sailed with coast guard approval. The company said it will give $4,500 in compensation to relatives of each person who died, along with financial assistance to the survivors. The ship ran aground around noon on Saturday a few miles off central Sibuyan island, then capsized. Survivor Reynato Lanoria, a janitor on the ship, estimated about 100 people could have escaped the vessel, but thought the others were trapped inside. After the storm stymied earlier attempts to reach the ship and kept aircraft at bay, a rescue vessel battled huge waves and strong winds to approach on Sunday, more than 24 hours after the ferry lost radio contact." They're scouring the area. They're studying the direction of the waves to determine where survivors may have drifted," coast guard spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Armand Balilo said.