It took about five hours after the fire broke out.
A Philippine ferry carrying 157 people caught fire earlier this week, just before reaching a port 60 kilometers east of the capital Manila. Coast guards have shared several photos of people in the Life West floating in the sea waiting to be rescued. Smoke billows from a two-story passenger ship in the background.
Incident Report: Coastguard Response to a maritime incident involving the MV MERCRAFT 2, a fast craft ship that reported a shipwreck today, May 23, 2022, near Real, Quezon. pic.twitter.com/FItWkxtNdR
– Philippine Coast Guard (astcoastguardph) May 23, 2022
Although the cause of the fire is still unknown, 5 women and 2 men died, while 120 passengers were rescued, 23 of whom were treated for injuries, the Coast Guard said in a statement.
A ferry carrying more than 130 people has caught fire in northeastern Philippines. 7 passengers killed, 120 rescued from water. # Breaking#tuesdayvibepic.twitter.com/oSiV8T1URl
– Akinsi (@ Aknc35624923) May 24, 2022
The ship sailed from the island of Polilo, northeast of the archipelago and was about to anchor in the town of Real. The ship caught fire around 5 a.m. local time and a distress call was made to authorities at 6:30 a.m. local time. It took about five hours after the fire broke out. The incident is being investigated, the Philippine Coast Guard confirmed in a statement.
PCG press statement
May 25, 2022This is to clarify the total number of people affected during the onboard fire of MV MERCRAFT 2 in the waters near Real, Quizon on 23 May 2022. pic.twitter.com/2zdo3IBTrv
– Philippine Coast Guard (astcoastguardph) May 25, 2022
Initially there were some conflicting reports about how many people were on board. The Coast Guard, however, issued a statement in a statement on Twitter stating that “this was done to clarify the total number of victims during the MV MERCRAFT 2 fire in the waters near Real, Quizon on 23 May 2022.”
“According to the astcoastguardph station Northern Quiz, information gathered during the investigation yesterday, 24 May 2022, shows that 157 people were on board the distressed ship instead of the 134 previously reported.”
