At Least 31 Killed in Blaze on Philippines Ferry

At least 31 people have been killed after a ferry carrying about 250 passengers and crew caught fire in the southern Philippines

Jim Hataman, governor of Basilan, the southern island province near where the ferry caught fire, said 31 people had died.

Search and rescue efforts are continuing for at least seven missing passengers.

The governor of the southern province of Basilan said that many of those who were rescued jumped from the ferry in panic when the fire broke out, and were pulled from the sea by coast guards, navy men, the crew of another ferry, and local fishermen.

Such accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago due to storms, poor maintenance of marine vehicles, overcrowding of passengers over their carrying capacity, and non-compliance with safety rules.

In one of the deadliest accidents, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker in December 1987, killing more than 4,300 people in the world's worst non-war maritime disaster.