MANILA, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Five people, including two Australian men, were missing at sea after a small fishing boat sank off the coast of Southern Leyte in the central Philippines on Sunday.

Police said that the five men were on a fishing trip when the motorboat capsized and sank in the waters between Hinunangan town in Southern Leyte and Loreto town in Surigao del Norte.

Police identified the missing as Graham Hastings, 60 and Donald Cox, 60, both Australians, and Filipinos Jar-ar Adanza, 19, Serecio Adanza, 40, and Michael Samatina, 33.

According to the police, the five men left Tahusan, a coastal village in Hinunangan before dawn on Sunday. A distress call from one of the boat passengers said their boat sank on a very rough sea between Hinunangan and Loreto towns.

However, police said rescuers lost contact with the men at around 2:40 p.m. local time.

An Initial investigation showed that Hastings, a resident of Tahusan village, owns a resort in Hinunangan in Southern Leyte. Cox is reportedly Hasting's visiting friend.

A search and rescue operation backed by the Philippine Coast Guard was underway.