At least two people drowned and three others were injured as a ferry carrying more than 800 passengers sank in the southern Philippines on Sept. 6, officials said.

According to Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, the Superferry 9 with a crew of 117 sailors, which left from the southern port city of General Santos to Illoilo central port, sank midway near the Mindanao island in southern Philippines .

The coast guards said the ferry sent distress call as it began tilting before dawn. Some passengers plunged in a mass panic.

A coast guard official, Rear-Admiral Rudy Isorena, said the cause of the accident is under investigation, adding that the weather in the region was not bad.

However, the local weather forecast agency said the tropical storm Dujuan offshore northeastern Philippines has been causing a bad weather to the whole Philippines .

Ferry is one of major transport means for 92 million Phillipine. Sea accidents are common in the country because of tropical storms.

The world’s deadliest maritime accident occurred in December 1987 as a ferry laden with Christmas holidaymakers collided with a fuel tanker in southern Manila capital city, killing more than 3,000 people.

Last year, a storm plunged another ferry carrying more than 860 passengers in central Philippines , leaving 800 dead or reported missing./.