Fire Hits Passenger Ship at Ormoc Port
Aiswarya Lakshmi
Monday, August 17, 2015
A passenger ship, owned by Roble Shipping, carrying more than 500 passengers caught fire at Ormoc port in Leyte, Phillipines early Saturday (August 15).
Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Commander Armand Balilo said 3 crewmembers of the M/V Wonderful Stars of Roble Shipping Line sustained minor injuries.
Local authorities are now uncertain about what caused the fire aboard the ferry. According to the ship captain, the fire started at the vessel’s cargo hold and quickly spread.
Balilo said all of the passengers – numbering 544, according to the manifest – safely disembarked from the ship but 3 crewmembers of the ferry suffered minor injuries when they tried to put out the fire.
The ferry reached Ormoc before the fire broke out, but most of the passengers stayed and waited for daybreak.
Fire trucks from different parts of Leyte rushed to the site to help put out the fire. There was difficulty putting out the blaze because of the fuel from the vehicles on board.
Last month, a ferry was lashed by strong waves and capsized moments after departing from Ormoc port, leaving more than 60 people dead.