Seven fishermen stranded at sea were rescued by the Philippine Coast Guard when their boat engine died.

The trawlers were fishing off San Joaquin town in iloilo province when they encountered engine trouble on Saturday afternoon.

The Philippine Coast Guard station in Iloilo said they received a report from the San Joaquin disaster office that the villagers were stranded on their fishing boat.

Aboard the FBCA Tropic JC 1 vessel, six coast guards set out from the Tigbauan and San Joaquin outposts to conduct search and rescue operations. They found the seven fishermen safe onboard the distressed boat, which was drifting some eight nautical miles off San Joaquin town.

The fishing boat was safely towed back to shore with its passengers in good physical condition.

Authorities blamed the engine failure on strong currents and large waves in the area.

Coast Guard Iloilo station commander Paterno Belarmino Jr said: 'We are appealing, especially to our fishermen, to coordinate with the coast guard and local government unit (LGU) before setting out to sea. It is up to them to inform the coast guard and LGU where they are fishing so that if there is ever an emergency, we know where they can be rescued. It is required that they bring safety equipment, life jackets and life rings, and cellphones so that if they are ever distressed, they can call us.'