More than 20 dead as boat capsizes near Philippine capital

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) was racing against time to rescue more passengers from a vessel that capsized near Manila in strong winds on Thursday with the loss of at least 25 lives, officials said.

It was not immediately clear how many people were on board, but disaster official Neil Ferrer told DZRH radio that 40 people had been rescued and a search is ongoing for six missing people.

The boat was about 45 metres from land when it was hit by strong winds, causing all passengers to panic and move to one side, which caused the vessel to capsize off the waters of Binangonan, the PCG said.

Binangonan is a coastal town just two hours of drive from the capital, Manila.

The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands, was this week hit by Typhoon Doksuri which brought winds of up to 175 km an hour to its northern and most populated Luzon island.

Some ferries and boats were allowed to sail on Thursday after Doksuri left the Philippines.