World

Fire breaks out in Philippines, passengers jump off ferry, 7 killed

May 25, 2022
Bharat Times

It took about five hours to bring the fire under control.

Earlier this week, a Philippine yacht carrying 157 people caught fire just before arriving at a port 60 kilometers east of the capital Manila. The Coast Guard shared several photos of people wearing lifeboats floating in the sea, waiting to be rescued. Thick smoke billows from the two-storey passenger ship in the background.

The Coast Guard said in a statement that the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, while five women and two men have died, while 120 passengers have been rescued, of whom 23 are undergoing treatment.

The vessel had departed from Polillo Island, which is in the northeast of the island archipelago nation, and was to anchor in the city of Real. The fire broke out on the ship around 5 a.m. local time, and authorities were notified of the crisis at 6:30 a.m. local time. It took about five hours to bring the fire under control. The incident is being investigated, the Philippine Coast Guard confirmed in a statement.

Initially there were somewhat contrary reports about the number of people on board. The Coast Guard, however, issued a clarification in a statement on Twitter, saying, “This is to clarify the total number of persons affected during the fire incident involving the MV MERCRAFT 2 in the waters around Real, Quezon on 23 May 2022.” Is.”

“According to @coastguardph station northern Quezon, the data collected during the investigation yesterday, 24th May 2022 showed that 157 persons were on board instead of 134 persons as per earlier report.”