At least 28 people drowned and 203 others were plucked to safety after two Philippine passenger ferries collided during bad weather, a navy spokesman said. An unknown number of passengers were also believed missing after the wooden-hulled MV San Nicolas rammed into the Super Ferry 12 in choppy waters off the coast of Corregidor and Limbones islands west of Manila. It was the latest in a long list of deadly sea tragedies in the 7,000-island Philippine archipelago, where ferries are a common mode of transport. The San Nicolas was on its way to Manila from the southwestern island of Palawan while the bigger vessel was en route to the central city of Cebu when the accident occurred. Commander Gerry Malabanan of the Philippine Navy said the death toll as at 8:00 pm (1200 GMT) was 28 dead with 203 rescued. All the casualties were from the San Nicolas. None of the 1,400 passengers aboard the Super Ferry 12 were injured, initial reports said. The management of San Nicolas said its manifest contained 198 passengers and crew, lower than the number who died and were rescued. Coast Guard spokesman Lieutenant Armando Balilo said it appeared several passengers of the vessel were not listed. Balilo said he did not know how many were missing "because we have already exceeded the number in the manifest." San Nicolas officials said the vessel can carry up to 280 passengers and crew but rejected suggestions that it could have been overloaded. Coast guard chief Reuben Lista said a massive search and rescue operation involving commercial vessels and coast guard and naval cutters was being hampered by large swells and bad weather. "The area is very dangerous because there are areas in the coastline that are very rocky," Lista said. President Gloria Arroyo, who ordered a swift investigation into the accident, was to meet late Sunday with survivors as they were brought by boats to the Coast Guard headquarters in Manila, aides said. Lista said a probe had been launched to determine the circumstances under which the collision occurred. Gina Virtucio, a spokeswoman for Super Ferry management, said the accident came during rough weather, with heavy rains and poor visibility. Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, who also heads Manila's disaster coordinating agency, said Arroyo ordered that "maximum assistance be given the passengers and for the search to continue." "This should be a wake-up call for (ferry operators) to shape up and see to it that crew are totally competent and alert," Reyes said, adding that it was unimaginable that two ferries could hit one another at open sea. Accidents involving overcrowded ferries are common in the Philippines, with many ferry operators found to have neglected vital maritime regulations and safety features. In 2002, the passenger ferry Maria Carmela caught fire near the port of Batangas killing 44 people and in 2000 the Anahanda sank off the coast of the southern island of Jolo, killing more than 100 people. More than 4,000 were also killed in the world's worst peace-time maritime disaster when the Dona Paz collided with an oil tanker off central Mindoro island in 1987. **PHOTO CAPTION*** A man hugs his son who survived the collision of two ferries, near Manila, May 25, 2003. Philippine naval, coastguard and civilian vessels were combing choppy seas southwest of Manila on Sunday for survivors of the mid-sea collision that killed 17 people, coastguard officials said, REUTERS/Reny Pampolina