Fire hits passenger ship at Ormoc City port

(Updated 10:01 a.m.) A passenger ship caught fire minutes after docking at the Ormoc City Port, early Saturday.

 

Captain William Isaga, district commander of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)in Eastern Visayas, told radio dzBB in an interview that M/V Wonderful Star caught fire at least 30 minutes after arriving at the Ormoc City port at around 3:50 a.m.

 

Isaga said all of the 544 passengers have already disembarked from the ship when it caught fire at around 4:20 a.m.

 

The ship's passenger capacity is 855, he added.

 

Isaga said two members of the ship's crew, whose names have yet to be determined, were injured while fighting off the fire. They have been brought to a hospital in the city.

 

An earlier report on GMA News' "News TV Live" said that three of the more than 60 crew members of the ship suffered minor injuries.

 

In an interview with GMA News Online, PCG spokesperson Armand Balilo said personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection were still putting out the fire as of 9:55 a.m.

 

Balilo said fire investigators have yet to determine where and how the fire started. 

 

Earlier in July, 61 passengers were killed when the wooden ship Kim Nirvana capsized off Ormoc City.

 

The ship was believed to be overloaded. — Amanda Fernandez/LBG/ALG, GMA News