More than 80 people were rescued from an inter-island ferry that caught fire in the Philippines on Saturday.
Officials said the vessel Asia Philippines caught fire as it approached the port of Batangas, south of Manila.
Two passengers are still unaccounted for, but it was unclear if they are missing or had been rescued but left without notifying authorities, the coast guard said.
One of the rescued passengers told local media that the ferry was about a mile away from the port when a fire broke out on the second deck.
Maritime accidents are common in the Philippines due to frequent storms, overcrowding, poorly enforced safety regulations and badly maintained boats.
In May, seven people were killed when a fire broke out on a high-speed ferry in Quezon province, about 60 kilometres from Manila on the island of Luzon. The Mercraft 2 had been carrying 134 people, the coast guard said at the time.
In 1987, about 5,000 people died in the world's worst peacetime shipping disaster after an overloaded passenger ferry, the Dona Paz, collided with an oil tanker off Mindoro island, south of Manila.
- with inputs from Associated Press
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Smoke rises from the 'Asia Philippines', an inter-island cargo and passenger vessel, after it caught fire while approaching Batangas port, in the southern Philippines. AP -
Philippine Coast Guard personnel help to put out the fire on the vessel. AP -
Coast guard personnel and volunteers rescued more than 80 passengers and crew. AP -
Many people jumped into the water as flames spread fast in windy weather, officials said. AP -
The ferry, which came from Calapan city in Oriental Mindoro province, was more than a kilometre away from the Batangas port, when smoke emerged from the second deck followed by flames, witnesses said. AP -
The ferry’s proximity to the port allowed the rapid rescue of the victims even after nightfall by coast guard vessels and nearby ships, motor bancas and tugboats. AFP -
An ambulance attends to people after the fire. Reuters -
The ferry was also carrying at least 16 vehicles. AP
