Philippine rescue teams scoured the charred wreckage of a ferry on Thursday, searching for survivors and additional victims following a fire that engulfed the inter-island vessel, resulting in the deaths of 29 individuals, including a 6-month-old infant, according to authorities.
The cause of the blaze, which began around 11 p.m. (1500 GMT) on Wednesday near the southern island of Basilan, has not yet been determined by investigators. At the time, many passengers were asleep in air-conditioned cabins on the ferry's lower deck.
Passenger Mina Nani, 46, recounted her experience on the MV Lady Mary Joy 3 to DZRH radio, saying, "I thought I was dreaming, but when I opened my eyes, it was dark and we were surrounded by smoke." Nani managed to survive by leaping from the vessel and sharing a flotation device with another passenger until they were both rescued.
Official figures regarding the number of people on the ferry varied, but the coast guard confirmed that the vessel was not overloaded, with 225 individuals, including 36 crew members, rescued. According to Governor Hadjiman Hataman Salliman, 11 people, including three children, drowned after jumping from the burning ship, while 18 others perished in the onboard fire.
"We have yet to explore the entire ship because it's still hot." Salliman said.
Commodore Rejard Marfe, the coast guard chief for the Mindanao region, informed Reuters that there was "chaos" as the spreading fire awakened passengers, and the 18 victims discovered on board were "totally burnt." The Philippines, an archipelago of over 7,600 islands, has a history of poor maritime safety, with vessels frequently overcrowded and numerous aging ships in operation.
A fire on a high-speed ferry carrying 134 passengers in May resulted in the deaths of at least seven individuals. In 1987, around 5,000 people perished in the world's worst peacetime shipping catastrophe when the overloaded passenger ferry Dona Paz collided with an oil tanker off Mindoro Island, south of Manila.
