PCG: Ill-fated MV Mercraft 2 carried 157 people

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Wednesday clarified that the ill-fated MV Mercraft 2 carried 157 people when it caught fire just before reaching the port of Real in Quezon province on Monday.

Of that number, PCG said that 121 were uninjured, 29 were injured, and seven died.

“According to the PCG Station Northern Quezon, the data gathered during the investigation yesterday, 24 May 2022, revealed that there were 157 individuals onboard the distressed vessel instead of 134 individuals as earlier reported,” the PCG said in a statement.

PCG spokesperson Commodore Armand Balilo said the captain of the vessel is currently in their custody as the Department of Transportation wanted to investigate all angles to determine the cause of the fire.

Mercraft Shipping Corp., which owns the passenger ferry, has already apologized to the victims of the blaze. —VBL, GMA News