Pray for their safety !

Fears are growing for more than 700 people on a ferry which officials say has capsized in the central Philippines in the wake of a typhoon.

Rescuers are scouring the area but their efforts are being hampered by heavy seas and gale force winds.

Officials on Sibuyan island say four bodies have been recovered. There are unconfirmed reports of three survivors.

Typhoon Fengshen has caused flash floods and landslides, killing at least 69 people elsewhere in the Philippines.

The Philippine President, Gloria Arroyo, has demanded an explanation as to why the ferry was allowed to leave port on Friday despite warnings that a typhoon was about to hit.

"Why did you allow it to sail and why was there no ample warning? I want answers," she told civil defence and coast guard authorities during a briefing on the accident.

The 23,824-tonne ferry, the Princess of the Stars, has a passenger capacity of 1,992.

There is some confusion over the number of people on board.

The BBC's Michael Barker, in the Philippines, says that according to officials the ferry was carrying 626 passengers and 121 crew. However, local reports put the figure on board as high as 820.

The vessel was en route to Cebu from Manila, and according to its owners, Sulpicio Lines, contact was lost at about 1230 (0430 GMT) on Saturday, Reuters reported.

Coastguard officials said the ferry's engine failed on Saturday afternoon and that the vessel then ran aground several kilometres off Sibuyan, in Romblon province.

The mayor of San Fernando, a coastal town in Sibuyan, said that four bodies were washed ashore on Sunday, including a man and a woman that had been tied together.

Mayor Nanette Tansingco also told local radio that three survivors had been located.

She said the upturned ferry could be seen from shore with its bow jutting out of the water.

Other areas of the Phillipines are struggling to recover from the storm.

In Iloilo, a central province, Governor Neil Tupaz said 59 people had been killed as a result of flooding caused by the typhoon.

"Iloilo is like an ocean. This is the worst disaster we have had in our history," he told local radio.

Ten people drowned after a river burst its banks and swept away houses in southern Maguindanao province. Several other people were reported missing by the local authorities.

A landslide has also buried several houses in Cotabato city, also in the south, killing at least two people, officials said.

Thousands of people across the country have been evacuated from the path of the typhoon.

Gusts of up to 170km/h (106mph) have caused much damage in southern and central areas. Many roads are blocked and there are widespread power cuts.

Domestic flights to central regions have been cancelled and inter-island ferry services halted, officials say