MANILA - A cargo ship with 24 Chinese crew aboard sank off the waters of the Philippines' Batanes province on Friday afternoon, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Saturday.

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Quoting a report from the Batanes provincial police office, PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz said Saturday the Panama cargo vessel MV Hong Wei met the accident about 120 nautical miles (222 kilometers) off Itbayat island around 3:22 pm Friday.

Cruz could not immediately say what caused the vessel to sink or the vessel's destination.

A passing vessel, MV Shun Tong, and a ship from China's Taiwan region's coast guard rescued 12 crew and two passengers, respectively, said Cruz, adding that at least three ships from Taiwan region's coast guard are currently at the scene to conduct search and rescue operations for the 10 still missing crew members.

A rescue vessel from the Chinese mainland is expected to arrive at the site anytime Saturday to join the search and rescue operations, said Cruz.