14 missing in Philippines after Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship collides with fishing boat
- The Hong Kong-flagged Vienna Wood collided with the Liberty 5 fishing boat in the early hours of Sunday morning
- A coastguard light plane and a helicopter joined the search on Monday for the 12 fishermen and two passengers that were on the Liberty 5
The boats crashed early on Sunday in waters southwest of Manila, capsizing the Philippine fishing vessel Liberty 5 off the coast of Occidental Mindoro province.
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The captain of the cargo ship Vienna Wood, which is registered in Hong Kong, called for help “a few hours later” and the vessel was being escorted to land by the Philippine Coast Guard, said agency spokesman Commodore Armando Balilo.
It was not immediately clear if the Liberty 5 had sunk.
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Philippine authorities deployed aircraft and ships in the hunt for the missing people, who included 12 Filipino crew members and two passengers.
The fishing boat had been heading for metropolitan Manila when the collision happened.
The Vienna Wood was being escorted by a Philippine coastguard vessel to nearby Batangas province, the coastguard said.
The vessel with 20 crew on board was not carrying any cargo at the time of the collision. It had been en route to Australia.
The Philippines has a poor shipping safety record, with scores dying in mishaps at sea each year, usually aboard wooden-hulled outriggers that move people from one small island to another.