5 Dead As Passenger Ship Sinks off Philippines

Search and rescue teams recovered the bodies of five passengers, with dozens more missing, after an unregistered passenger ship sank off Sulu Province in the Philippines Thursday night local time, the local Philstar news agency reports.

The authorities have managed to rescue 14 passengers so far, seven of them children.

The unregistered MPB Wilayza was reportedly carrying 50 passengers at the time of the accident, not counting the crew, and was overloaded with cement and iron bars.

Most of the passengers are from the towns of Talipao and Tapul.

The Philippine Coast Guard has not released a statement on the accident so far.

World Maritime News Staff; Image: The Philippine Coast Guard