Zamboanga City (Philippines), Sep 6 (DPA) Five people drowned and 63 were missing Sunday when a passenger ferry with 968 people aboard sank in the southern Philippines, rescue officials said.

The Superferry 9 sank hours after it listed to the right by 40 degrees off Siocon town in Zamboanga del Norte province, about 810 km south of Manila. It was carrying 847 passengers, 117 crew and four sea marshals.

The Office of Civil Defence said the ship's listing was 'allegedly due to a hole in its hull'.

Commandant Real Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said 900 people were rescued by the coast guard, the navy, local fishing boats and two cargo ships of Aboitiz Transport Systems Corp, which owns the vessel.

Five bodies were also retrieved, he added. The identities had not yet been established, but authorities said they included a man and a child who drowned as some passengers jumped into the water in panic.

'We are still looking for 63 people, and we are continuing our rescue operations,' Tamayo said. 'We are scouring the shorelines of Zamboanga del Norte.'

Navy spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Edgard Arevalo said the Philippine and US air forces also dispatched helicopters to help in the search.

The ferry issued a distress signal before dawn Sunday as it listed dangerously in the waters off Siocon. It left the southern city of General Santos Saturday en route to the central city of Iloilo when the accident happened.

Jess Supan, Aboitiz vice president for safety and security, said the boat's captain had ordered passengers and crew to abandon ship two hours after the ship started to list.