( CNN ) -- Two days after the ferry they were on sank after colliding with a cargo ship , 82 people remained unaccounted for Sunday in waters between southern Philippine islands , a Coast Guard official said . Authorities have found the bodies of 38 people and rescued another 750 , said Coast Guard spokeswoman Dawn Baterbonia . The incident occurred around 9 p.m. Friday in the Mactan Channel about 2 miles northwest of Cebu City , the capital of Cebu province . The passenger ship -- MV St. Thomas Aquinas -- was coming from nearby Butuan City and the cargo ship -- the Sulpicio , which had about 20 people aboard -- was leaving Cebu for the province of Davao in Mindanao . The passenger ferry sank , but not before sending out a distress call heard by Coast Guard officials . The cargo vessel involved in the crash -- along with Navy , Coast Guard and commercial vessels -- was helping in the rescue efforts . The incident recalls one of the worst maritime disasters in world history dating to December 20 , 1987 , also off the Philippines . Between 1,700 and more than 4,000 people were killed when the ferry Dona Paz collided with the tanker MT Victor . The number of casualties has varied ; many claim the Dona Paz was extremely overcrowded . Philippines arrest Chinese 'poachers ' after reef collision . Ships collide in North Sea . CNN 's Greg Botelho and Sara Mazloumsaki contributed to this report .
NEW : 38 people have died and 82 remain missing , the Philippine coast guard says . NEW : The death toll is expected to rise as search operations continue in remote areas of the country where many are feared trapped by collapsed buildings or landslides from torrential rains that swamped roads and bridges on Friday. Rescue crews continue searching for survivors . Their ferry hit a cargo ship off Cebu City in the southern Philippines .