All 120 passengers and crew members aboard a Philippine ferry that caught fire at sea yesterday were rescued and the fire was extinguished, the Philippine Coast Guard said.
The MV Esperanza Star caught fire at dawn while traveling from Siquijor province to Bohol province in central Philippines with 65 passengers and 55 crewmembers, the coast guard said.
It added that it deployed two vessels for rescue and to help put out the flames, which raged for more than five hours.
Photo: EPA-EFE / Philippine Coast Guard handout
Photos and video released by the coast guard show flames and black smoke billowing from two decks at one end of the ferry.
The video showed coast guard personnel on board another vessel using a water cannon to put out the fire, while a fishing boat and another vessel could be seen nearby.
“All those who were on board the ferry are safe,” coast guard spokeswoman Joy Gumatay said in a statement, without providing further details.
She added that the survivors were brought to the port city of Tagbilaran in Bohol and an investigation was under way.
Sea incidents are common in the Philippine archipelago because of frequent storms, poorly maintained vessels, overcrowding and spotty enforcement of safety regulations, especially in remote provinces.
In March, a fire broke out — and raged overnight — on a ferry carrying about 250 people and killed at least 31 passengers and crew members off the southern island province of Basilan, the coast guard said.
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.
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