2 vessels collide in Philippines; 27 missing

Forty-six passengers and crew of the wooden-hulled ferry MV Catalyn B were plucked from the water and brought to the coast guard's Manila headquarters, said coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo. The coast guard has alerted all vessels in the area to look for those still missing, he said.
A woman passenger was seen being carried on a stretcher, while others were led to a clinic for a medical examination.
The 44-foot- (13-meter-) long vessel, which was carrying 73 people on a journey from Manila to southwest Mindoro Island, sank shortly after the accident, Balilo said. The ferry had a capacity to carry 126 people.
All 22 crewmen on the other vessel involved in the collision, were safe and their fishing boat did not sink, said Melvin Viola of the coast guard's operation center.
The cause of the collision off Cavite province's Limbones island was not clear. No weather disturbances were reported in the area. The collision came at a time when millions of Filipinos were heading to their home provinces ahead of Christmas Eve, Kazinform cites China Daily. See www.chinadaily.com for full version.