Asia-Pacific

Over 500 rescued after ships collide in Philippines

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-12-02 16:16

MANILA: Coast guard rescued 519 people on board a passenger ship at dawn on Wednesday as it ran aground after being hit by a passing cargo vessel in central Philippines.

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"M/V Wonderful Star was hit on her port side at around 10:00 pm Tuesday local time (1400 GMT). It missed the course and ran aground at the shallow portion of Cebu channel near a major oil depot," the country's coast guard authorities said in a report.

All the passengers have been safely transferred to the coast guard rubber boats and tugboats by 02:00 am Wednesday local time (1800 GMT), some with minor injuries, the authorities said.

Coast guard officials have ordered environmental agencies to closely monitor oil spills and are currently coordinating with the shipping company to extract the passenger ship.

The cause of the collision is under investigated, according to the coast guard.

Sea accidents are common in the Philippines where people largely rely on marine transport to travel among thousands of islands.
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