3 kids—including 6-month-old baby—among dead, 230 others rescued
At least 31 people died and 230 were rescued after a fire engulfed a ferry off Basilan province, authorities said Thursday.
The Lady Mary Joy 3 was traveling from Zamboanga City to Jolo Island in Sulu province when the fire broke out late Wednesday, prompting passengers to jump overboard, disaster officer Nixon Alonzo said.
The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, is plagued by poor sea transport, with its badly regulated ferries prone to overcrowding and accidents.
It is also the second serious maritime disaster within a month, following the sinking of the motor tanker Princess Empress off the coast of Oriental Mindoro which is causing an economic and environmental crisis in the provinces along the important Verde Island Passage.
Rescuers, including the Philippine Coast Guard and fishermen, saved 195 passengers and 35 crew as the blaze ripped through the ferry off Baluk-Baluk Island in Basilan.
Basilan Governor Jim Salliman said 31 bodies had been retrieved, including 18 found inside an air-conditioned cabin.
Photos released by the coast guard showed one of its vessels sprayingwater on the burning ferry as personnel in smaller boats plucked people from the dark water.
Firefighter Jayson Ahijon, who was among the passengers, said peoplepanicked as fire and thick smoke overwhelmed the vessel.
Some jumped overboard before putting on life jackets.
“It’s beyond my imagination, the fire was spreading so fast,” Ahijon, 36, said.
Ahijon said he and several coast guard officers helped other passengers to safety, including a baby they put in a bucket and lowered over the side of the boat.
The captain ran the vessel aground as the fire spread “so many morecould survive since it would be easier to swim to shore,” Commodore Rejard Marfe from the Philippine Coast Guard told AFP.
Salliman said at least three children, including a six-month-old baby, were among the dead.
Authorities also said 14 people were injured.
It is not clear how many people are still missing. Salliman said the number of passengers on the vessel exceeded the 205 listed in the ship’s manifest, but a PCG official said the vessel only had 205 reported travelers and 35 crew members.
In a report, Coast Guard District South-Western Mindanao commander Commodore Marco Antonio Gines said the fire allegedly broke out at the accommodation area on the second deck of the vessel, stressing they had not conducted a full investigation into the fire nor could they confirm what caused it.
Gines also clarified the vessel was not overloaded with passengers.
Marfe said four members of the coast guard and an unknown number of army personnel were on board but not listed in the manifest.
“We’re still getting the data from Coast Guard Station Zamboanga because that’s where they originated in order to determine if there are still missing people,” he said.
Marfe said PCG investigators were on their way to inspect the ferry and determine the cause of the fire.
Survivors were taken to Zamboanga and Basilan, where the injured were treated for burns, Salliman said.
PCG BARMM Commander Commodore Rejard Marfe told the reporters that the death toll increased by more than doubled after 18 bodies were found inside the burned ship.
“As of now, our search is continuous so we can see if there are cadavers left to discover,” said Marfe.
More than 200 passengers and crew members were on board the M/V Lady Mary Joy 3 when it caught fire late Wednesday evening while docked at the pier of Baluk-Baluk Island.
The ferry was on its way to Jolo, Sulu from Zamboanga City on March 29 when the fire hit the vessel minutes before 11 p.m. The flames were extinguished at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday.
Coast Guard Station Basilan formed a joint Search and Rescue team with the local government units in the area and conducted the search and rescue operation in the vicinity waters off Baluk-Baluk Island in Hadji Muhtamad, Basilan.
“Upon receipt of information regarding the said fire incident, a Search and Rescue (SAR) Team from Coast Guard Sub-Station Maluso immediately proceeded in the area of the incident and was able to retrieve one female cadaver,” said the Coast Guard in a Facebook post.
In an interview with Dobol B TV, Basilan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office Chief Nixon Alonzo said that the information on the fatalities they received from the Hadji Muhtamad Municipal DRRMO is still subject to validation.
According to Alonzo, some of the bodies they fished out of the water were drowned victims while others had burn marks on their bodies. With AFP