Three persons are dead after a Philippine fishing boat was rammed by an unidentified commercial vessel in waters off a disputed South China Sea shoal, the nation’s coast guard said.

Eleven crew members survived the incident, which took place early Monday 85 nautical miles northwest of Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine Coast Guard said on Wednesday, citing details provided by one of the survivors.

The shoal is at the center of recent tensions between Philippines and China, with Manila saying last week that it took out a barrier in the area installed by China. Beijing has, however, said it removed the structure by itself, as it maintained sovereignty in the area.

--With assistance from Cliff Venzon and Ditas Lopez.