Vessel had just left the port of Ormoc City when it capsized in rough seas
Rescuers have been picking up survivors clinging to boat's overturned hull
Divers now searching murky waters and inside ship to save more people
Poorly-maintained ferries have led to frequent accidents in the country
At least 36 people have been killed after a ferry carrying 173 people capsized in the Philippines today.
The boat, the Kim Nirvana, had just left port in Ormoc City, Leyte Province and was about half a mile out from the shore when it overturned in rough seas.
Seven rescue vessels were sent to pluck the survivors clinging to the overturned hull of the boat to safety but 26 people are still missing.
Ongoing operation: Rescue teams continue to search the water for bodies and survivors following today's maritime disaster in the Philippines
Some were hauled out of the water by nearby fishing boats and coastguard vessels, while others swam to dry land.
Divers are currently scouring the murky waters and searching for more survivors from the inside of the ship.
Philippine National Red Cross Chairman Richard Gordon told CNN he understood the boat capsized due to high winds.
He said Red Cross staff were on the pier in Ormoc helping those who make it back to shore with food and shelter.
Ordeal: A traumatised man is helped by paramedics after being rescued from a passenger ferry that capsized in rough waters near Ormoc City today
Panic: A survivor is transported to an ambulance on a stretcher after being rescued from the sea
Gwendolyn Pang, Secretary-General of the National Red Cross in Manila, described the boat as a commercial 'pump boat' or banka - essentially a canoe-style craft with outriggers and powered by a small engine.
The vessels are commonly used around the Philippines for transporting people and goods, as well as for fishing.
Stricken survivors told the Associated Press that the ferry was leaving Ormoc for the Camotes Islands when the bow suddenly rose from the water as passengers screamed in terror.
The coast guard confirmed that it was engaged in search and rescue activities but could give no further details of the operation.
A spokesperson for the coastguard said 127 people had been rescued.
The disaster occurred in rough seas according to Ciriaco Tolibao, from Ormoc city's disaster risk reduction and management office.
Heavy toll: Filipinos carry a dead body of a dead passenger during the ongoing search and rescue operation
Poorly-maintained, loosely-regulated ferries are the backbone of maritime travel in the sprawling archipelago.
Overcrowding is also very common on ships sailing between the country's 7,100 islands.
But this has led to frequent accidents that have claimed hundreds of lives in recent years, including the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster in 1987 when the Dona Paz ferry collided with an oil tanker, leaving more than 4,300 dead.
In 2013, a ferry with nearly 700 people aboard has sunk near the central Philippine port of Cebu.
And last year, two people were killed and more than 100 rescued after another ferry capsized off the coast of central Philippines.
Accidents are common: Poorly-maintained, loosely-regulated ferries have led to frequent disasters that have claimed hundreds of lives in recent years in the Philippines
Picked up by rescue teams: Anxious survivors sit on the ground after being rescued clinging to the overturned hull of the boat
Stricken survivors: The boat that capsized has been described as a commercial 'pump boat' or banka - essentially a canoe-style craft with outriggers and powered by a small engine
