One person is confirmed dead while another has gone missing after a passenger ferry caught fire off Leyte province, Philippines, on Sunday, June 26.
The 236-passenger vessel Mama Mary Chloe was underway off the Port of Hilongos in Leyte after having earlier departed nearby Bohol province when a blaze ignited on board at around 13:00 local time on Sunday.
The crew of the Philippine Coast Guard multi-role response vessel BRP Cabra as well as some Good Samaritan boat crews rushed to the scene to render assistance to the 165 people on the burning ferry.
The coast guard issued an update via its official Facebook page later in the day on Sunday saying that one individual died as a result of the incident while a search operation is ongoing to locate one missing passenger.
The remaining 163 people who were on the ferry were safely rescued. They were later transported to the Port of Hilongos and various other towns along the coast of Leyte.
An investigation has since been launched to identify the events that led to the fire.