More than 30 people die as fire breaks out on ferry in Philippines disaster

More than 30 people have died including a six-month-old baby after a fire broke out on a ferry carrying about 250 passengers and crew in the southern Philippines.

Many of those rescued had jumped off the MV Lady Mary Joy 3 in panic at the height of the fire on Wednesday night and were plucked from the sea by the coastguard, navy, another ferry and local fishermen off the southern island of Basilan.

The search and rescue effort was continuing on Thursday for at least seven missing passengers. 

Authorities have yet to identify the cause of the fire that started close to 11pm local time on Wednesday off the island of Basilan, when many of the passengers were asleep in air-conditioned cabins on the ferry’s lower deck. 

The burned ferry was towed to Basilan’s shoreline, where coastguard personnel and other authorities discovered 18 of the bodies in a budget section of the passenger cabin, governor Jim Hataman said, adding that the search of the vessel was continuing.

‘These victims perished onboard due to the fire,’ he said. 

Many of those rescued had jumped off the MV Lady Mary Joy 3 in panic at the height of the fire and were plucked from the sea by the coastguard, navy, another ferry and local fishermen

Philippine Coast Guard personnel pluck a survivor from the waters near a burning MV Lady Mary Joy at Basilan, southern Philippines early Thursday

He added that an investigation is under way and the discovery suggested there were additional travellers not listed on the vessel’s manifest.

The ferry was en route to Jolo town in Sulu province from the southern port city of Zamboanga when it caught fire midway off Basilan close to midnight, he said.

At least 23 passengers were injured and taken to hospital.

‘Some of the passengers were roused from sleep due to the commotion caused by the fire. Some jumped off the ship,’ Mr Hataman told the Associated Press by telephone.

Sea accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago because of frequent storms, badly maintained boats, overcrowding and patchy enforcement of safety regulations, especially in remote provinces.

In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,300 people in the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster.

Philippine Coast Guard respond to the fire incident onboard the MV Lady Mary Joy at the waters off Baluk-Baluk Island, Hadji Muhtamad, Basilan, Philippines, on Wednesday night

Philippine Coast Guard personnel search for survivors from the fire on MV Lady Mary Joy

Pictured: The burned wreckage of the MV Lady Mary Joy passenger vessel is seen on the shore of the Basilan island, southern Philippines

Pictured: The burned wreckage of the MV Lady Mary Joy passenger vessel is seen on the shore of the Basilan island, southern Philippines