(Xinhua 2008-06-24 22:21:32)The number of fatalities from Typhoon Fengshen has reached 291 in the Philippines, said the Department of Health Tuesday night.

Health Undersecretary Mario Villaverde said 216 people have been confirmed dead in the central region of Western Visayas alone, with Iloilo as the hardest hit province.

The number of injured was put at 166, according to the health agency.

Villaverde said the figures do not include the fatalities from the MV Princess of the Stars, which capsized off the archipelago's central province of Romblon over the weekend.

The 23,800-ton passenger vessel sank on its way from Manila to Cebu on Saturday at the height of the typhoon. There were 862 people on board as the passenger ship capsized, including "751 manifested passengers and 111 crew members", according to the Sulpicio Lines company, owner of the ill-fated vessel. As of Tuesday night, 48 survivors and 70 fatalities have been confirmed by the Philippine Coast Guard, while most of the others were feared dead.

Meanwhile, the disaster relief agency Tuesday pegged the damage caused by Fengshen at 4.39 billion pesos (98 million U.S. dollars), mostly in agriculture which was placed at 3.3 billion pesos (74 million U.S. dollars).
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