More than 30 people have died including a six-month-old baby after a fire broke out on a ferry carrying about 250 passengers and crew in the southern Philippines.
Many of those rescued had jumped off the MV Lady Mary Joy 3 in panic at the height of the fire on Wednesday night and were plucked from the sea by the coastguard, navy, another ferry and local fishermen off the southern island of Basilan.
But around 10 of the victims drowned, while another 18 people were found inside the burned-out wreckage in the early hours of this morning.
Authorities say the death toll is now at 31 but they fear that could rise further as they are still searching for at least seven missing passengers.
Officials have yet to identify the cause of the fire that started close to 11pm local time on Wednesday off the island of Basilan, when many of the passengers were asleep in air-conditioned cabins on the ferry’s lower deck.
Pictured: Philippine Coast Guard spraying water on a fire onboard the Lady Mary Joy 3 during a search and rescue operation in waters off Baluk-Baluk Island in Basilan province
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 coastguard, navy, another ferry and local fishermen
Philippine Coast Guard personnel pluck a survivor from the waters near a burning MV Lady Mary Joy at Basilan, southern Philippines early Thursday
The burned ferry was towed to Basilan’s shoreline, where coastguard personnel and other authorities discovered 18 of the bodies in a budget section of the passenger cabin, governor Jim Hataman said, adding that the search of the vessel was continuing.
‘These victims perished onboard due to the fire,’ he said.
He added that an investigation is under way and the discovery suggested there were additional travellers not listed on the vessel’s manifest.
There were conflicting figures on the number of passengers on the ferry, which was not overloaded, but the coast guard said 230 people including 35 crew were rescued.
The ferry was en route to Jolo town in Sulu province from the southern port city of Zamboanga when it caught fire midway off Basilan close to midnight, he said.
At least 23 passengers were injured and taken to hospital.
Read Related Also: Outrage Over Morgan Wallen's Concert Cancellation Reaches New High
‘Some of the passengers were roused from sleep due to the commotion caused by the fire. Some jumped off the ship,’ Mr Hataman said.
Commodore Rejard Marfe, coast guard chief in the southern Mindanao region, said most of the passengers were sleeping at the at that time of the fire, adding ‘there was chaos’.
‘I thought I was dreaming but when I opened my eyes, it was dark and we were surrounded by smoke,’ survivor Mina Nani, 46, told DZRH.
She said she survived by jumping off the vessel and shared a floater with another passenger before they were rescued.
Philippine Coast Guard respond to the fire incident onboard the MV Lady Mary Joy at the waters off Baluk-Baluk Island, Hadji Muhtamad, Basilan, Philippines, on Wednesday night
Philippine Coast Guard personnel search for survivors from the fire on MV Lady Mary Joy
Pictured: The burned wreckage of the MV Lady Mary Joy passenger vessel is seen on the shore of the Basilan island, southern Philippines
Pictured: The burned wreckage of the MV Lady Mary Joy passenger vessel is seen on the shore of the Basilan island, southern Philippines
Firefighters brought the blaze under control early on Thursday.
Photos shared by the Coast Guard showed the MV Lady Mary Joy 3 ship was gutted by fire.
Sea accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago because of frequent storms, badly maintained boats, overcrowding and patchy enforcement of safety regulations, especially in remote provinces.
In May, at least seven people died after a fire in a high-speed Philippine ferry carrying 134 people.
In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,300 people in the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster.
