MANILA, Jan 26 (Reuters) - At least seven people died after a passenger boat carrying more than 300 people capsized off the southern Philippine province of Basilan, the Philippine Coast Guard said.
The accident occurred after midnight on Monday as the passenger vessel, MV Trisha Kerstin 3, was en route to Jolo in Sulu province, after departing Zamboanga. The PCG said the vessel had 332 passengers on record and 27 crew.
Coast Guard Commander Romel Dua of Southern Mindanao District told DZBB radio that 215 people had been rescued and seven bodies recovered, while search and rescue operations continued for 144 others who remained missing.
Dua said an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the accident.
Basilan Governor Mujiv Hataman shared on Facebook clips from the scene at Isabela port in Mindanao which showed survivors being ushered off boats, some wrapped in thermal blankets, and others being carried on stretchers.
Scores of people die each year from ferry accidents in the Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands with a patchy record for maritime safety.
(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Michael Perry)
