MANILA, May 23 (Reuters) - At least 12 people, including three children and a Japanese tourist, drowned when a boat bound for a resort island overturned and sank in rough waters in the central Philippines on Saturday, police and the coast guard said. Another 52 people were rescued and eight were still missing, coast guard officials said. Local fishermen rushed to the area to rescue those in the water after distress calls were sent by the boat captain, regional police chief superintendent Luisito Palmera told reporters. "We're helping the local coast guard search for survivors," Palmera said. Among the dead was a 40-year-old Japanese tourist, Palmera said. Police and the coast guard were investigation the sinking. The boat left Batangas City port for the popular tourist beach resort of Puerto Galera on Mindoro island. (Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Paul Tait)
Dogs sit on the window sills of a house flooded by water from the Rio Solimoes river, a major tributary of the Amazon, in Anama May 21, 2009. Floods and mudslides ...
