Thirty-eight years ago today, on December 20, 1987 (October 30, 1987 lunar calendar), the worst maritime accident of this century killed more than 1,500 people in the Philippines. On December 20, 1987, two Philippine ships collided in the sea near East Mindoro Island in the central Philippines, leaving more than 1,500 people missing. This is the worst maritime accident of this century. On the evening of the 20th, the passenger ship "Dona Paz" sailed from Leyte Bay to Manila with a full load of passengers. It collided with the tanker "Victor" in the dark night. The two ships immediately caught fire and sank soon after. Rescue helicopters and naval patrol boats rushed to the accident site and only 26 people were rescued. Sixteen hours after the crash, planes searching for victims reported that there were no survivors in the sea between East Mindoro and Marinduque Island. Philippine authorities said there were 1,556 people on the two ships at the time, including 1,493 passengers on board, 50 crew members, and 13 crew members on the tanker. Most of the people rescued were burned, and one said he saw the tanker directly hit the passenger ship. Another said he estimated that the passenger ship was carrying far more passengers than official statistics. Before that, another serious maritime accident of the century was the 1912 sinking of the Hercules after hitting an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean, killing 1,503 people.