The fire hit close to midnight and ran the ferry aground on an island off Basilan province.
Mayor Arsina Kahing-Nanoh shows people walking towards the burnt passenger ferry Lady Mary Joy 3 after it was towed to the shores of Hadji Muhmatad, Basilan province, southern Philippines. At least 31 people died and 230 were rescued after a fire engulfed a ferry in the southern Philippines, authorities said March 30. - AFP
However, all 35 crew members survived, including the captain, who issued an abandon-ship order when the fire hit close to midnight and then ran the ferry aground on an island off Basilan province to give remaining passengers a better chance to survive, coast guard officials said. Commodore Rejard Marfe, the commander of the PCG District in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said 18 torched bodies were found in different parts of the ferry, while another 11 bodies were plucked out from the sea and 230 people were rescued. Six children were among the dead.
According to Marfe, the vessel's manifest showed 205 passengers and 35 crew. However, security personnel from the coast guard and the army were not on the list."The security team includes four coast guard personnel. We are still determining the number of army soldiers on the vessel.
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