• Ferry was bound for Manila when collision took place on Friday evening
• Thomas Aquinas sank within half an hour of the crash
• Hundreds of passengers jumped into ocean, while others were asleep
  

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 11:18 EST, 16 August 2013 | UPDATED: 20:03 EST, 16 August 2013

A ferry with nearly 700 people aboard has sunk near the central Philippine port of Cebu after colliding with a cargo vessel, killing at least 17 people. Hundreds of others were rescued.

The captain of the ferry MV Thomas Aquinas ordered the ship to be abandoned after it began listing and then sank after hitting the cargo vessel, coastguard officer Joy Villegas said.

The coastguard said 17 people were confirmed dead, including children, and 525 had been rescued several hours after the collision. Authorities were still checking the number of others who had been taken to hospitals.

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Two coastguard vessels and other nearby ships were involved in the rescue operation not far from the port of Cebu, Mr Villegas said.

Hundreds of passengers jumped into the ocean as the ship started to sink, according to survivors. Many of the passengers were asleep and others struggled to find their way in the dark.

Jerwin Agudong said he and other passengers jumped overboard in front of the cargo vessel after the ferry began taking on water and the crew distributed life jackets.

He told radio station DZBB that some people were trapped and he saw bodies in the water.

"It seems some were not able to get out. I pity the children. We saw dead bodies on the side, and some being rescued," he said.

He said the ferry was entering the pier when the cargo vessel, which was on the way out, suddenly collided with it.

"One of the persons who jumped with us hit his head on metal. He is shaking and he is bloodied," Mr Agudong said.

The 455ft -long ferry sank in about 30 minutes, he said.

The youngest among those rescued was an 11-month baby, news reports said.

The ferry came from Nasipit in Agusan del Sur province in the southern Philippines on a day-long journey, Mr Agudong said.

Accidents at sea are common in the Philippine archipelago because of frequent storms, badly maintained boats and weak enforcement of safety regulations.

In 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker in the Philippines, killing more than 4,341 people in the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster.

In 2008, the ferry MV Princess of the Stars capsized during a typhoon in the central Philippines, killing nearly 800 people.