More than 200 people missing after Philippine ferry collision More than 200 people are missing and 24 are confirmed dead following the collision between a container ship and a passenger ferry in the Philippines. As daylight came to the port city of Cebu anxious family members were scanning the lists of those rescued and disappeared for news. Eyewitnesses say it appeared the cargo ship collided with the ferry, which had 870 people on board, as it was leaving the harbour. It happened quickly. We were watching a band when we heard a loud bang and the singer flew towards me. I ran and got my sleeping wife and daughter, and escaped. If I had not returned they might have been killed because they thought we were just docking," said survivor Roland Manliguis. Search and rescue operations continued through the night and into the morning, with many fishing boats involved. The container ship is owned by the same company that, in 1987, was involved in the MV Dona Paz disaster, when 4,386 people died. Many people are killed in ferry accidents every year in the Philippines, an archipelago of 7,100 islands. More about: Accident, Death, Philippines, Rescue