One person was killed and another went missing when an inter-island ferry carrying 165 passengers and staff caught fire off a province in the centre of the Philippine island nation on Sunday, according to the coast guard. The remaining passengers and personnel were all safely recovered.
Soon after midday, the Mama Mary Chloe caught fire near two island settlements in the province of Bohol, according to coast guard personnel. Regarding the missing person, a search effort supported by fishing boats was in progress.
Social media videos showed inpiduals in life jackets bobbing in the water as the ship was enveloped in a thick black cloud of smoke.
The boat was travelling from Bohol to the eastern province of Leyte with 157 passengers, including 15 children, and eight crew members.
Because of frequent storms, poorly maintained boats, overcrowding, and lax enforcement of safety standards, maritime accidents are widespread throughout the Philippine archipelago.
The world's biggest maritime tragedy to occur during a time of peace occurred in December 1987 when the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a petroleum tanker. More than 4,300 people perished.
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