25 Dec 2009

Fatal collision in Manila Bay

11:10 am on 25 December 2009

Four people are dead and another 23 are missing in the Philippines after a ferry collided with a fishing boat in Manila Bay.

They were carrying at least 73 people between them.

The Coastguard says 46 people have been rescued. The cause of the collision was not clear as the weather was clear at the time.

The passenger ferry was on its way to Lubang island, south-east of Manila.

The other vessel, a 369-tonne fishing boat, had been on an extended fishing trip in the southern Philippines and was returning to the Navotas port in northern Manila.

The BBC reports maritime accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago.