Fire ignites on training vessel following collision off Navotas City, Philippines

A training vessel suffered an onboard fire following an earlier collision in the waters off Navotas City near the Philippines' capital of Manila on Monday, September 2.

The Philippine Coast Guard reported that the training vessel Kamilla was at anchor off Navotas when strong currents caused a nearby landing craft, identified as GT Express, to drift towards it and strike its bridge shortly after 07:00 local time on Monday.

The coast guard said the landing craft was also anchored but had been swept about by currents as the area was experiencing bad weather caused by Tropical Storm Yagi.

Kamilla's crew then reported that a fire ignited somewhere onboard at around 09:19. The crew later abandoned ship with 17 sailors subsequently being picked up by a tug that was also in the area.

An eighteenth crewmember was initially reported missing. This individual was later safely rescued off the coast of Navotas and has since been transported to hospital.

The coast guard has deployed the multi-role response vessel BRP Suluan to Navotas Anchorage to monitor the area for any signs of pollution caused by the incident.