MANILA, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Monday that it had resumed searching for 14 Filipino fishermen and passengers of a fishing boat that sank after colliding with a cargo ship off the Philippine province of Occidental Mindoro early Sunday.

Besides a PCG patrol boat, the PCG said in a statement that it had also deployed a plane and a helicopter to augment the search and rescue operations that started at 7:30 a.m. local time on Monday.

"PCG will deploy another multi-role response vessel to further intensify search and rescue operations," the PCG said.

According to the PCG, cargo vessel MV Vienna Wood, registered in China's Hong Kong, collided with the fishing boat, FV Liberty 5, in the early hours of Sunday about 27 km off the coast of the Occidental Mindoro province.

A total of 12 fishermen, including the captain, and two passengers were missing after the fishing boat sank.

A search and rescue operation was launched on Sunday but it was halted Sunday night.

The PCG said the cargo vessel with 20 crew onboard was sailing to Australia from Subic Bay in Zambales province of the northern Philippines, when it collided with the fishing boat that was headed to a fish port in Manila.

Investigations were underway to determine the cause of the collision.

The PCG said it had issued a notice to Mariners, asking all vessels in the area to be on the lookout for the missing persons and to report any information on the incident. Enditem

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