PCG in Visayas and Dapitan to probe Lite Ferry 16 fire

Fire engulfs passenger vessel Lite Ferry 16, about 1.5 nautical miles from Palauan Port in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte, past 1 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 28. Photo by Allan Baredo

CEBU CITY—The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)-Visayas will closely coordinate with its counterpart in Dapitan City to investigate the cause of the fire that engulfed Lite Ferry 16 on Tuesday.

Three passengers, including a 1-year-old infant, were killed when the Dapitan-bound ferry caught fire as it sailed near the Pulauan Port in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte late night of Tuesday.

Lt. j.g. Michael Encina, PCG-Visayas spokesperson, said the board of marine inquiry (BMI)  will be conducted by the Coast Guard in Dapitan City which has jurisdiction over the area where the tragedy happened.

“We could not yet say if PCG Central Visayas will be part of the BMI because the incident transpired outside our area of responsibility. But since the vessel came here, in Samboan Wharf in particular, we can coordinate with them if they want us to be part of the investigation,” Encina said in an interview.

Coast Guard personnel are set to remove the 19,000 liters of fuel from the ship. Oil spill boom will also be put up around the vessel to avoid an oil spill.

Following the tragic fire, Encina said there would be changes in the way the PCG inspects vessels coming from Cebu.

“From now on, we will be stricter in implementing our policies to ensure that all vessels are safe,” he said.

Lite Ferry 16, with 271 passengers including 23 crew members and 28 rolling cargoes on board, left Samboan town, more than 100 kilometers south of Cebu City, past 6 p.m. on Tuesday for Dapitan.

It was supposed to arrive at 1 a.m. but fire broke out near the engine room past 12:30 a.m. about 1.5 nautical miles off Pulauan Port in Dapitan.

A total of 222 passengers survived the five-hour inferno.  They were rescued by the Coast Guard with the help of other vessels that responded to Lite Ferry 16’s distress call.

PCG-Dapitan chief Cherry Rose Manaay identified the three fatalities as Chloe Labisig, 1; Danilo Gomez, 60; and Ronaldo Heneral, 65.

She said the fatalities apparently died of suffocation since they did not suffer burns, though another official said they died of drowning.—WITH A REPORT FROM DALE ISRAEL AND ADOR VINCENT MAYOL