Eleven Indians have been reported missing after a cargo ship sank off the coast of Philippines in the Pacific Ocean after a typhoon on Friday, AFP reported, quoting Japan’s Coast Guard.

The ship, the 33,205-tonne Emerald Star, had 26 Indians on board.

The Japanese Coast Guard said it had received a distress signal from the vessel early on Friday when it was about 280 km east of the northern tip of the Philippines. Three ships sailing in the region rescued 15 crew members.

“We have dispatched two patrol boats and three planes to the site, but a typhoon has made a rescue difficult,” a spokesperson for the Coast Guard was quoted as saying.

The ship sank about 600 km south of the Ishigaki island in South West Japan, according to Chinese news agency Xinhua.