Three crew members of a Philippine fishing boat died when a foreign commercial vessel which was transiting the waters off Bajo de Masinloc rammed it, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Wednesday.

The collision took place at 4:20 am Monday while the mother boat of fishing vessel Dearyb was moored for fishing 85 nautical miles northwest of Bajo de Masinloc.

The PCG said the boat sank, with its captain and two others being the fatalities.

The 11 survivors used their eight service boats to reach Infanta, Pangasinan along with the three dead to report the incident to the nearest Coast Guard sub-station.

The Philippine Coast Guard is looking for the foreign commercial ship, reportedly a Marshall Islands registered tanker, who was said to be within the area when the mishap occured.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said he is” deeply saddened” over the incident and assured that PCG is investigating the matter. DMS