31 bodies were found in the southern Philipine islands on Saturday morning, after a cargo ship struck a ferry carrying hundreds of people from Butuan City.
Rescue officials are still looking for 172 other people who were aboard the ferry, according to CNN.
600 others have been rescued, according to Lt. Elgen Gregorio, from the Philippine Coast guard, who spoke with CNN after the accident happened at around 9 p.m. on Friday.
Passenger ferry MV St. Thomas Aquinas collided into the cargo ship-The Sulpicio, which was headed for the province of Davao in Mindanao-around 2 miles northwest of Cebu City, in Cebu province.
Immediately after the two vessels hit, the passenger ferry started sinking. Captains on board sent out a distress call to Coast Guard officials, who arrived on the scene shortly after.
20 people were on board The Sulpicio-most stopped to help the Navy, Coast Guard and other vessels who lent a hand once they saw the scene of the incident.
Upwards of 44 people were rushed to a hospital in Cebu, and treated for wounds.
In Dec. 1987, a similar accident happened, in which ferry Dona Paz hit an enormous tanker named MT Victor. Between 1,700 and 4,000 people were killed due to the crash, CNN reported.
This number varies at such a large margin because some say that the Dona Paz was overcrowded with passengers unaccounted for.
