Singapore Reporter

The death toll from the collision of a ferry and a cargo vessel off Cebu in the central Philippines overnight has risen to 28, while 213 people are still missing, a Philippine coast guard official said Saturday.

Rear Adm. Luis Tuason said the death toll is expected to rise because there are bodies trapped in the passenger ship M/V St. Thomas Aquinas that sank after colliding with cargo vessel M/V Sulpicio Express 7 on Friday evening in the Mactan Channel in Cebu Province.

The M/V St. Thomas Aquinas of 2GO Shipping, carrying 870 passengers and crew members, was making its way into Cebu from the southern island of Mindanao when it collided with M/V Sulpicio Express 7 around 9 p.m.