CEBU : More than 700 people were missing on Sunday after a Philippine passenger ship capsized in a typhoon that has killed scores and left a trail of destruction across the archipelago. Only four people are so far known to have survived the ferry disaster and they said many passengers did not make it off the Princess of Stars in time. Crowded life-rafts sank in the cold, storm-tossed seas. "Many of us jumped, the waves were so huge, and the rains were heavy,' a survivor identified as Jesse told the local radio channel. "There was just one announcement over the megaphone, about 30 minutes before the ship tilted to its side.' "Immediately after I jumped, the ship tilted, the older people were left on the ship,' Jesse said. Four people have been confirmed dead, but most of the 620-plus passengers and 121 crew remain missing. Children's slippers and life jackets have washed ashore. According to the ship's manifest, there were 20 children and 33 infants on board. In the central city of Cebu, where the Princess of Stars was meant to dock, dozens of relatives maintained a vigil at a small passenger terminal, waiting for news. "The last time I heard from my son was on Friday evening when the ship left Manila. He texted to say he was coming home,' said Celecia Tudtud, a mother of four. "I really hope he's ok,' she said. A spokesperson for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who flew to the United States on Saturday night, said she would not cut short her eight-day state visit, which includes meeting US President George W Bush in the White House on Tuesday. A coastguard vessel was trawling the waters around the 23,824 gross tonne ferry, which is upside down with only its bow above the waves, trying to confirm reports some passengers had made it to a small island. "We are hoping more people will have reached the shoreline,' said Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo, the head of the coastguard. Princess of Stars ran aground on Saturday, but the coastguard was unable to reach it because of huge swells and bad weather caused by Typhoon Fengshen, which crashed into the central Philippines on Friday. At least two other coastguard vessels were en route to help in rescue efforts and Tamayo said he hoped divers would be able to scour the submerged ship on Monday. He said there was no sign fuel was leaking from the ferry but said an oil-spill response team would arrive with one of the two coastguard ships before dawn on Monday. Princess of Stars sank 3 km from Sibuyan island in the centre of the archipelago. Typhoon Fengshen, with maximum gusts of 195 kph, has killed at least 155 in central and southern Philippines, with the western Visayas region, famed for its sandy beaches and sugar plantations, the worst-affected. In Iloilo province, 101 people were reported dead after flood waters over two meters high engulfed communities, forcing tens of thousands to scramble onto the roofs of their homes.