Thirty-nine people, including three infants, died and 76 others were rescued after a passenger boat capsized Tuesday afternoon in the central Philippines, the police said.

The MV Don Dexter Kathleen, with 119 passengers on board, capsized off the country's central province of Masbate when a sudden gust of wind hit the vessel at 1 p.m. local time (0300 GMT), said Reuben Sindac, police director of the province.

But it is not clear there are how many crew members on the boat.

At least four people are still missing.

"The weather suddenly turned violent. There was a whirlwind," said local official Herminio Valdemoro.

With more than 7,000 islands, the Philippine archipelago is frequently haunted by sea mishaps.

On June 21, another ferry, named The M/V Princess of the Stars, overturned off the central province of Romblon at the height of Typhoon Fengshen, with 862 people on board. No more than 60 survived the disaster.

(Xinhua News Agency November 5, 2008)