Posted 7:02a.m., Aug. 28, 2019
Updated as of 10:41a.m.
After four hours since it reportedly caught fire, rescue operations of those affected by the fire that engulfed a ship on early Tuesday evening are now done.
According to Facebook user Allan Barredo’s post, there were no personnel nor vessel from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in the area.
“Rescue done. 4 hours. NO COAST GUARD. To think we are just 40 min from Dapitan,” Barredo wrote on his caption.
Bohol Island News tried to reach both the Coast Guard Station in Dapitan City and in Northern Mindanao but calls were left unanswered, as of this writing.
Lt. Jr. Grade Michael John Encina, spokesman of PCG in Central Visayas (PCG-7), told reporters here that as far as rescue operations is concerned, there is only limited details they can provide since it is the jurisdiction of Coast Guard station there in Dapitan City.
He added that what PCG-7 did was to coordinate with the responding ships in the area, as well as, get in touch with their counterparts in Northern Mindanao.
According to a report furnished by PCG-7, the cause of fire originated at the engine room of Lite Ferry 16.
The ship’s location was 1.5 nautical miles away from Palauan Port in Dapitan City.
There were 137 passengers on board the vessel. There were 24 children and four infants.
It departed the wharf of Samboan town in southern Cebu at 6p.m. on Tuesday.