PHILIPPINES: Rescuers searched yesterday for about 100 passengers missing in a fire that turned an overnight Philippines ferry ride into a nightmare that left at least one person dead.
Most of the 744 passengers and the entire crew of 155 aboard the Superferry 14 survived by jumping into Manila Bay or boarding rescue boats.
But the fate of about 100 passengers remained unknown at dawn - officials said they might have been picked up by fishing boats, trapped inside the blazing vessel or drowned. The still-smouldering ferry, towed to shallow water, lay on its side, too dangerous to search. The 10,19 -ton, steel-hulled ship left Manila on Thursday night for stops in the central and southern Philippines.
With air-conditioned staterooms to go along with bunkhouse-room economy passage, it was one of the more luxurious ways to travel among islands in the sprawling archipelago, where boat accidents are common.
Most passengers had settled in for the night when a powerful explosion started an inferno that killed at least one person and injured 12 others. Grabbing lifejackets, people got out the best they could in the chaos that left at least two young mothers separated from their babies. Fishing boats, a passing freighter and other vessels were soon plucking survivors from the water.
There were joyous reunions for the two mothers - one of the babies was carried to safety by Ms Nelia Tubio, who was five months' pregnant herself - but only anxious for the relatives of the missing. "I'm very happy. Saving a baby is like saving an angel," Ms Tubio said. - (AP)