A ferry carrying over 350 people sinks in the Philippines, January 26, 2026. Photo: ABS-CBN News

A ferry carrying over 300 passengers sank Monday morning in the Philippines, leaving at least 15 dead, and at least 43 remain missing, the Philippine Coast Guard said, according to the Manila Standard. The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines said that the nationalities of the individuals in the accident cannot yet be confirmed, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The M/V Trisha Kerstin 3, an inter-island cargo and passenger ferry, was sailing to southern Jolo island in Sulu province from the port city of Zamboanga with 332 passengers and 27 crew members when it apparently encountered technical problems and sank, the AP reported, citing Philippine coast guard officials. 

Mujiv Hataman, governor of the island province of Basilan near where the ferry capsized, told the AP that passengers and two bodies were brought to Isabela, the provincial capital. “I’m receiving 37 people here in the pier. Unfortunately two are dead,” Hataman said from the Isabela pier.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has launched a massive search and rescue operation after the commercial passenger vessel sank in the waters of Baluk-Baluk Island early Monday morning. PCG officials said the vessel departed the Port of Zamboanga on Sunday night. It was bound for Jolo, Sulu, when it encountered trouble at sea, according to Filipino media outlet ABS-CBN News.

Search and rescue efforts were being done in good weather off Basilan province by the Philippine coast guard and navy, along with a fleet of fishing boats, per AP.

Global Times