The cargo and passenger ferry M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 was en route to the southern island of Jolo in Sulu province from the port city of Zamboanga when it reportedly experienced technical difficulties and sank, according to coast guard officials. The vessel was carrying 332 passengers and 27 crew members.

Coast guard representatives also reported the number of passengers who have been rescued and the bodies that have been recovered.

Mujiv Hataman, the governor of Basilan island province near the site of the ferry’s capsizing, informed The Associated Press that survivors and two bodies were taken to Isabela, the provincial capital.

“I’m receiving 37 people here at the pier. Unfortunately, two are deceased,” Hataman stated from the Isabela pier.

Search and rescue operations were actively underway in favorable weather conditions off the coast of Basilan province. The efforts involved the Philippine coast guard and navy, supported by a fleet of local fishing boats.

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.

In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker in the central Philippines, killing more than 4300 people in the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster.