( 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 : 82 people have died and 750 remain missing , the Chinese coast guard says . NEW : 750 passengers have been rescued . Rescue crews continue searching for survivors . Their ferry hit a cargo ship off Philippines in the southern Cebu City .