A ferry fire in the Philippines has killed dozens as passengers flee into the sea

Hong Kong (CNN) At least 29 people died Wednesday night after an inter-island ferry in the southern Philippines caught fire, with many of the 250 passengers on board jumping overboard into dark waters trying to escape the blaze, authorities said.

The Philippine Coast Guard said Thursday that search and rescue efforts are underway after the fire broke out in M. The Philippine Coast Guard added that emergency workers rescued 160 passengers and 36 crew members.

About 35 passengers jumped from the ship after they heard an explosion, Arsena Kaheng Nano, a municipal mayor in Basilan province told CNN affiliate. CNN Philippines.

She said the people of Basilan went ashore to try to rescue those who jumped off the ship after they saw from afar that the ship was on fire and was heading towards their remote island.

“Some of the passengers had burns on their bodies,” she told CNN Philippines.

Dramatic videos released by the Basilan provincial government show the ship on fire as it reaches shore, while a crowd of residents try to rescue survivors from the wreck.

Gray smoke was still billowing from the ship after the fire was put out on Thursday morning.

Mina Nani, a 46-year-old passenger on the ferry, told DZRH radio, according to Reuters, “I thought I was dreaming, but when I opened my eyes it was completely dark and smoke surrounded us.”

Commodore Regard Marphy, the coast guard commander in the Mindanao region, said there was “chaos” after the fire woke people from their sleep and the 18 victims found on board were “completely burned,” Reuters reported.

The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands, has a poor maritime safety record and ships in the Southeast Asian country are often outdated and overcrowded.

In May last year, at least seven people died when a High speed ferry With 134 people on board, it caught fire 60 km east of the capital, Manila.

Earlier this month, a tanker carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil sank Oriental Mindoro province southwest of Manila, polluting the beaches of at least three provinces and threatening the country’s diverse marine life.