According to authorities, 230 people were rescued after a ferry in the southern Philippines caught fire, and at least 12 people died as a result.
When the fire started late on Wednesday, the Lady Mary Joy 3 was traveling from Zamboanga City on the island of Mindanao to Jolo Island in the province of Sulu, according to disaster officer Nixon Alonzo. As a result, passengers jumped overboard.
The Philippine Coast Guard and fishermen helped save 195 passengers and 35 crew members as the ferry caught fire off Baluk-Baluk Island in the province of Basilan.
Seven people were still missing and 14 were injured.
Basilan Governor Jim Salliman said there could be more people missing because the number of passengers on the vessel exceeded the 205 listed in the ship’s manifest.
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“Twelve cadavers have been retrieved…three of them are children, including a six-month-old baby,” Salliman told AFP.
It was not clear how the fire started.
Survivors were taken to Zamboanga and Basilan where the injured received treatment for burns, Salliman said.
Photos released by the coast guard showed one of its vessels spraying water on the burning ferry as its personnel in smaller boats plucked passengers from the dark waters.
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.
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