MANILA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Saturday said it has joined the search and rescue operations for 15 fishermen reportedly missing at sea since Sept. 1 due to then tropical storm Yagi.

The PCG said the missing fishing boat was separated from the other boat in bad weather during their fishing venture on Sept. 1 in the vicinity waters of Philippine Rise, off the east Isabela province of Luzon island.

The PCG said the fishermen attempted to terminate their fishing activities after hearing of approaching Yagi, which later intensified into a super typhoon and made landfall in China on Friday.

However, the fishermen were confronted with "challenging sea conditions," which caused them to be separated and then lost communication, the PCG said.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Yagi has claimed at least 20 lives, with 26 people still missing across the Philippines.

It was unclear whether the 15 missing fishermen that the PCG reported were among those missing reported by the NDRRMC. Enditem

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