45 Rescued from Passenger Vessel Fire

All 45 passengers and crew members have been rescued from a ferry that caught fire roughly 5.5 nautical miles east off Binongkalan Point, Cebu Thursday night.

The Philippine-registered RoRo / passenger ship MV Filipinas Dinagat owned by Cokaliong Shipping Lines was traveling from Cebu City for Palompon, Leyte when the fire erupted on board.

By the time the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) arrived on scene to conduct rescue operations, the stricken vessel had become totally engulfed in flames.

Immediately, the survivors were embarked in a motorbanca that transported them to the nearest port for further assistance. At around 1 a.m. Friday personnel from the PCG Medical Team and Coast Guard Station – Northern Cebu provided medical assistance to 41 of the 45 survivors who safely arrived at Danao Port, Cebu.

The ship captain and three other crew members who were rescued by BRP Suluan (MRRV-4406) remained in the vicinity waters aboard the PCG vessel to attend to the ill-fated ship. Two tugboats were sent to the incident area to provide towing assistance.

As of 7:30 a.m. (local time) on Friday, the ill-fated passenger vessel was still in flames as an investigation into the cause of the incident is ongoing.

(Photo: PCG)