Philippine navy information officer Lt Jose Covvarubias says the five Vietnamese, along with their two dead fellow fishermen, have been turned over to Filipino police authorities after the early yesterday incident off Bolinao town in northwestern Pangasinan province.
Covvarubias said today that details remained sketchy and that an investigation was underway.
Covvarubias said the incident happened within the 200- nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines, a stretch of ocean where a coastal state has been granted exclusive rights to fish and exploit other sea resources.