MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The 120 passengers and crew aboard a Philippine ferry that caught fire at sea on Sunday were rescued safely and the fire was extinguished, the coast guard said.
The M/V Esperanza Star caught fire at dawn while traveling from Siquijor province to Bohol province in the central part of the Philippines with 65 passengers and 55 crew members, the coast guard said. It added that it deployed two ships for rescue and to help put out the fire, which burned for more than five hours.
Photos and video released by the coast guard showed flames and black smoke pouring from two decks at one end of the ferry. Coast guard personnel aboard another vessel used a water cannon to extinguish the fire while a fishing boat and another vessel were seen nearby.
“All aboard the ferry are safe,” Joy Gumatay, a coast guard spokeswoman, said in a statement but did not provide further details.
He added that the survivors were brought to the port of Tagbilaran in the province of Bohol and the investigation is ongoing.
Marine accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago due to frequent typhoons, poorly maintained ships, 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. in the southern island province of Basilan, said the coast guard.
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.
