A Philippine ferry carrying as much as 65 passengers and crew members has caught hearth at sea and a coast guard vessel has been deployed to rescue these onboard and attempt to management the flames
MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine ferry carrying as much as 65 passengers and crew members caught hearth at sea on Sunday and a coast guard vessel was deployed to rescue these onboard and attempt to extinguish the flames, coast guard officers mentioned.
The M/V Esperanza Star caught hearth at daybreak whereas touring from Siquijor province to Bohol province within the central Philippines, the coast guard mentioned. It didn’t instantly say how many individuals have been rescued from the ferry or if there have been casualties.
Photographs and video launched by the coast guard present flames and black smoke billowing from two decks at one finish of the ferry as coast guard personnel onboard one other vessel used a water cannon to attempt to put out the hearth. A fishing boat and one different vessel could possibly be seen close by.
No folks could possibly be seen aboard the burning ferry primarily based on the images and video launched by the coast guard.
Sea accidents are widespread within the Philippine archipelago due to frequent storms, badly maintained vessels, overcrowding and spotty enforcement of security laws, particularly in distant provinces.
In March, a fireplace broke out and raged in a single day on a ferry carrying about 250 folks and killed not less than 31 passengers and crew members off the southern island province of Basilan, the coast guard mentioned.
In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a gas tanker, killing greater than 4,300 folks on the planet’s worst peacetime maritime catastrophe.