At least 18 people have died and dozens are missing after a ferry carrying more than 300 passengers capsized in the southern Philippines.
The accident occurred at 1.50am on Monday as the passenger vessel MV Trisha Kerstin 3 was en route to Jolo, in Sulu province, after departing from Zamboanga, the coastguard said.
The vessel was operating within its authorised passenger capacity of 352, and had 332 passengers and 27 crew members on board, officials said.
Search-and-rescue teams are searching the area in relatively calm waters, coastguard Commander Romel Dua, of the Southern Mindanao District, said.
Mr Dua said an investigation was under way to determine the cause of the accident. Military aircraft and vessels have been posted to assist rescue efforts, he added.
Mujiv Hataman, governor of the island province of Basilan, shared clips from the scene at Isabela port, in Mindanao, on Facebook, showing survivors being ushered off boats, with some wrapped in thermal blankets and others being carried on stretchers.
Mr Hataman told DZBB radio that most survivors were doing well, but several elderly passengers required emergency medical care. He added that authorities were still cross-checking the passenger manifest as rescue efforts continued.
Scores of people die each year in ferry accidents in the Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands with a patchy record on maritime safety.
