A ferry carrying more than 350 people has sank in the southern Philippine province of Basilan.
The accident occurred after midnight on Monday, January 26, 2026, as the passenger vessel, MV Trisha Kerstin 3, was en route to Jolo Island in southern Sulu after departing the port city of Zamboanga.
According to the Philippine coastguard, the vessel, which had 332 passengers on record and 27 crew, issued a distress signal, about four hours after it departed Zamboanga City.
The coastguard said that the ferry sank in good weather about 1 nautical mile (nearly 2km) from the island village of Baluk-baluk in Basilan province, where many of the survivors were initially taken.
Coastguard Commander Romel Dua of Southern Mindanao District disclosed that at least 316 people had been rescued so far, with 15 confirmed dead and 28 still unaccounted for.
Emergency responders in Basilan said that those who were rescued and needed medical attention were brought to a hospital in the capital city of Isabela.
Dua said that there was a coast guard safety officer on board and he was the first to call and “alert us to deploy rescue vessels,” adding that the safety officer survived.
Dua added that coast guard and navy ships, along with a surveillance plane, an air force Black Hawk helicopter and fleets of fishing boats were carrying out search and rescue operations off Basilan.
Basilan Governor Mujiv Hataman posted clips from the scene at Isabela port in Mindanao on Facebook, showing survivors being ushered off boats, some wrapped in thermal blankets and others being carried on stretchers.
Hataman disclosed that most survivors were doing well, but several elderly passengers needed emergency medical care.
He added that authorities were still cross-checking the passenger manifest as rescue efforts proceeded.
Cause Of Ferry Sinking Unknown
Dua, the Coastguard Commander in Mindanao, said that the cause of the ferry sinking was not immediately clear and that there would be an investigation.
He added that the coastguard cleared the ferry before it left the Zamboanga port, and there was no sign of overloading.
Sea accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago because of frequent storms, badly maintained vessels, overcrowding and spotty enforcement of safety regulations, especially in remote provinces.
On Friday, at least two Filipino sailors were reported killed, and 15 others were rescued after a Singapore-flagged general cargo vessel en route to China from the southern island of Mindanao sank.
Four other sailors remain missing.Last Monday, a private vessel also sank off the Davao region in Mindanao, leaving at least six dead and nine others missing.
In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker in the central Philippines, killing more than 4,300 people in the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster.
Frequent storms, badly maintained vessels, overcrowding and spotty enforcement of safety regulations, especially in remote provinces are issues that continue to put lives at risk and underscore the urgent need for stricter safety oversight, improved vessel standards and stronger enforcement to prevent further loss of life.
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