At least 31 dead after Philippine passenger ferry with over 230 onboard catches fire
Philippines ferry fire
A fire on an inter-island passenger ferry in the southern Philippines has left at least 31 people dead, the coast guard said on Thursday. Among those dead is a six-month-old baby. Authorities are trying to identify the cause of the fire that started close to 11 pm on Wednesday off the island of Basilan. When the fire started, most of the passengers were asleep in air-conditioned cabins on the ferry's lower deck.
"Initially, we recovered 10 people in the water, they died of drowning. And then we discovered another 18 on board the vessel, in the cabins. They were totally burnt," Commodore Rejard Marfe, coast guard chief in the southern Mindanao region, told Reuters.
The local governor updated the toll later to 31.
"We initially have 13 deaths recorded, then we have 18 new deaths, so it's now 31 deaths," Basilan Governor Jim HatamanSalliman told AFP.
“Many of those rescued had jumped off the MV Lady Mary Joy 3 in panic at the height of the fire and were plucked from the sea by the coast guard, navy, another ferry and local fishermen,” the governor added.
The number of those on board isn't fully clear, but officials say the ferry wasn't overloaded. The coast guard said a total of 230 people, including 35 crew were rescued. Marfe added that "there was chaos" on the ferry after the fire started.
Firefighters brought the blaze under control early on Thursday.The burned ferry was towed to the shore where coast guard personnel and other authorities found 18 more bodies.
Photos shared by the Coast Guard showed the MV Lady Mary Joy 3 ship completely charred.
"I thought I was dreaming but when I opened my eyes, it was dark and we were surrounded by smoke," Mina Nani, 46, a survivor, told DZRH.
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She says she jumped off the boat and shared a floater with another passenger before they were rescued.
The Philippines has had several maritime accidents, with vessels often overcrowded and many ageing ships still in use. In May, at least seven people died after a fire in a high-speed Philippine ferry carrying 134 people.
The worst of these incidents happened in 1987 when around 5,000 lost their lives after an overloaded passenger ferry Dona Paz collided with an oil tanker off Mindoro island south of the capital, Manila.
(With inputs from agencies)
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