29 June

At least 12 Filipinos were missing after a collision between their fishing boat and a foreign cargo vessel before dawn on Sunday, media reports in the Philippines said.

The incident occurred Sunday off the northwest coast of the Philippines province of Occidental Mindoro, the Inquirer.net and Rappler news websites reported.

Both cited the Philippine Coast Guard, but the Inquirer reported 12 disappeared while Rappler said the missing included 12 crew plus two other employees of their company.

The boat's capsized hull was spotted at around 10 a.m., but there were no signs of the 12 fishing crew and two other Irma employees who had been aboard the Liberty Cinco, Rappler reported.

The Inquirer.net reported that the other vessel involved in the collision was "a Chinese cargo vessel," adding that it was flagged in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

"When our (team) arrived in the area, they still saw the fishing boat capsized but did not find anyone anymore," the Inquirer quoted Commodore Leovegildo Panopio, commander of the Coast Guard's Southern Tagalog district, as saying.

A strong current interrupted the search on Sunday evening but the search and rescue effort would resume early Monday, he said.

The incident happened about 24 kilometers from Paluan town, the Inquirer said.

CGTN