Manila, Jul 29 (AP) The Philippine coast guard was searching on Monday for 14 people missing since a fishing boat and cargo vessel collided in choppy waters two nights earlier.

It was not immediately clear if the fishing boat sank and the search for its occupants was being hampered by strong waves, officials said.

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The Philippine coast guard said the cargo vessel MV Vienna Wood collided with the FV Liberty 5 for unclear reasons after midnight in the early morning hours of Sunday about 27 kilometres off Mamburao town in Mindoro Occidental province south of the capital, Manila.

A coast guard light plane and a helicopter joined the search on Monday for the 12 fishermen and two passengers on board the Liberty 5, coast guard spokesman Armando Balilo said.

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The fishing boat had been heading for metropolitan Manila when the collision happened.

The Hong Kong-flagged cargo vessel, which first reported the collision, was being escorted by a Philippine coast guard vessel to nearby Batangas province, the coast guard 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. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)