Philippines says three dead in ramming incident on disputed sandbar

Three people died after a Philippine fishing boat was struck by an unidentified commercial vessel in waters off a disputed sandbar in the South China Sea, the country’s coast guard said.

Eleven crew members survived the incident, which took place early Monday 85 nautical miles northwest of Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine Coast Guard said in a statement Wednesday, citing details from one survivor. In a separate post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the coast guard said a foreign ship was involved in the incident.