Seven people have perished and seven others are missing after a high-speed Philippine boat caught fire on Monday.
A fire broke out aboard the MV Mercraft 2 as it approached the Quezon provincial port of Real, some 60 kilometers east of Manila.
As early as 5 a.m. local time, the ship departed Poliliо Island and sent out a distress message to the island’s population at 6:30 a.m.
The coast guard said that five women and two men had perished, and that 120 people had been recovered.
Due to the injuries, 23 of them need medical help
Some were left behind while others waited in protective vests at sea
More about the fire
The two-story passenger ship was enveloped with flames and dense smoke.
However.
Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,600 Islands, and marine safety has been a problem in the past.
Overcrowding and deterioration of the vessels are common occurrences.
Overloaded passenger ferry Dona Paz collided with an oil tanker off the coast of Mindoro island, south of Manila, in 1987, killing roughly 5,000 people.
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