MANILA, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 gunmen on Friday abducted five Vietnamese crew of a foreign vessel off Basilan province in the southern Philippines.

The Philippine coast guard reported that armed men seajacked a Vietnamese vessel, MV Royale 16, around 7 a.m. Friday near Sibago Island in the Basilan Strait, a strait of water separating the islands of Mindanao and Basilan province.

Maj. Filemon Tan said in a statement that the coast guard had immediately reported the incident to the military. "Sea and naval assets already deployed to search and rescue the kidnap victims," he said.

Tan and the coast guard said that the gunmen fled with the captives.