Boat catches fire off Basilan, 15 crew members rescued —PCG

Fifteen crew members were rescued after their motorboat caught fire off Isabela City, Basilan, early morning on Tuesday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.

In a statement, the PCG said its Basilan station responded to the fire incident at the waters off Lampinigan Island at around 02:30 a.m.

The Motor Launch (ML) J Dayang 3 was heading to Bongao, Tawi-Tawi from Cawit, Zamboanga City, loaded with hardware materials and groceries when it caught fire.

Aside from PCG, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) also conducted firefighting and search and rescue (SAR) operations.

The BFP Basilan City declared the fire out at around 05:30 a.m.

Around P13.5 million of damage to property was estimated due to the incident, according to the BFP Basilan City.

The 15 crew members were in good physical condition and received assistance.

No possible trace of oil spill was found due to the incident, based on the inspection made by the Marine Environmental Protection Group – Basilan and PCG Station Basilan. —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA News