Six killed as ship sinks off central Philippines
( 2001-12-22 15:53 ) (7 )

At least six people were killed when an inter-island shipping firm's service boat collided with a fishing vessel and sank off Cebu province in the central Philippines on Saturday, a coast guard official said in Manila.

About 48 people were rescued after the accident off Daanbantayan town in northern Cebu, about 500 km (300 miles) south of the capital Manila, duty officer of the Cebu coast guard, Lemuel Alquiza, told Reuters.

Ten of those rescued were injured, Alquiza said.

Alquiza could not confirm the total number of passengers on board the Island Shipping Line's service boat. Radio reports estimated the boat carried 70 people.

The service boat was ferrying passengers from an Island Shipping boat when the accident happened. The main ship could not approach the coast of Daanbantayan town because the tide was low.

Filipinos started travelling home to the provinces on Saturday for a four-day Christmas weekend. The government declared December 24 an official holiday.