Fire on Philippine passenger ferry kills 10

Philippine Coast Guard responds to the fire incident onboard M/V LADY MARY JOY 3 at the waters off Baluk-Baluk Island. - PCG via Reuters

MANILA (Reuters): Ten people have died and 230 have been rescued after a passenger ferry caught fire on Wednesday (March 30) evening in the seas off the southern Philippine province of Basilan, a coast guard official said.

Nine people were injured in the fire that started in air-conditioned cabins, Commodore Rejard Marfe, coast guard chief in southern Mindanao, told the DZMM radio station. The ferry has a capacity to carry up to 430 people.