MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Three people, including a one-year-old girl, were killed and 245 were rescued from a ferry that caught fire overnight in a rough sea in southern Philippines, coastguard officials said Wednesday. Survivors said they spent several hours in fear of drowning or burning in the sea off the coast of Dapitan, in North Zamboanga province, before being rescued by fishing boats and other boats passing by.
The fire apparently began in the engine room of the M/V Lite Ferry 16, coastguard spokesman Armand Balilo said. Despite the damage, the ship remained afloat for about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) on the coast of Dapitan, where it was heading from Santander, in the province of Cebu, in the center of the country. HELP US Click on the Google News star and follow usThe two eldest victims were men over 60, Balilo said. I was thinking of the Lord because I thought that could only end in two ways: burned alive or drowning,” trader Wilfredo Castro told The Associated Press on the phone after being rescued. Some passengers panicked and jumped off the ferry when the fire started before midnight Tuesday.” The waves were very strong and the rescue boats weren’t going to find us if we jumped into the sea,” Castro said. However, Castro said he and others decided to jump into the sea after waiting to be rescued for about five hours in the cargo area , one of the parts of the ferry where the flames had not reached. Despite the raging sea, they were able to reach a rescue boat, he said.” This is my second life,” said Castro, 30. Balilo said the coastguard had no patrol boats in the area, so they asked all the boats in the area for help. It’s not clear if there are any missing. However, authorities were still searching for victims, Balilo said at noon on Wednesday. Offshore accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago due to frequent storms, boats with precarious maintenance, passenger overload and poor application of safety regulations.
