By Katrina Gracia Consebido
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) search and rescue (SAR) team recovered at least 7 dead passengers caught in a blazing passenger vessel on Monday morning, May 23.
According to the PCG, the MV Mercraft 2 RoRo vessel was sailing from Polillo island bound for Real, Quezon at 5:00 a.m. carrying 124 passengers and 10 crew members when the fiberglass RoRo vessel caught in fire.
A total of 7 individuals consisting of 5 women and 2 men perished in the incident while 120 passengers were rescued including 23 injured survivors and 3 critical passengers who were brought to the nearest hospital for medical assistance.
Meanwhile, as of 11:00 a.m., the PCG-SAR is currently searching for the remaining 4 passengers who went missing in the incident.
PCG declared the RoRo vessel “fire under control” around 9:33 a.m. –ngs