Fire hits ferryboat off Batangas

BATANGAS CITY—Fire broke out aboard a ferryboat off Barangay (village) Matuco on Verde Island Wednesday morning, a Coast Guard officer said.

Police Officer 2 Benelito Holgado of the Batangas District Coast Guard said fire broke out aboard the MV Cebu Ferry 1 around 9:15 a.m.

The MV Cebu Ferry 1 sent a distress call after leaving the port of Batangas 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Manila, coast guard spokesman Lieutenant Commander Algier Ricafrente told Agence France-Presse. Meanwhile, all 25 passengers were accounted for and the fire put under control, Ricafrente added.

“The coast guard deployed two vessels to assist, while commercial vessels in the area also helped,” he said.

Ricafrente could not say whether there were foreigners aboard the ferry.

The vessel was headed to the port of Caticlan, gateway to Boracay island in the central Philipines which is famed for its pristine waters and powdery white sand beaches. Nearly one million people visited Boracay last year.