The death toll from the Philippine ferry fire has risen to 28

The number of victims of the fire that broke out on a ferry in the southern Philippines has risen to at least 28, after rescue crews found 18 new bodies inside the wreckage of the ferry. The Philippine coast guard and disaster management officials said in a statement today that at least 28 people died after a ferry caught fire. "MV Lady Mary Joy 3" Off Baluk Baluk Island, about 885 km south of the capital, Manila, yesterday evening (Wednesday), indicating that the bodies were found in different parts of the ship, and they were all burnt. He pointed out that emergency teams are still searching the ferry, especially after recovering other bodies that sank in the waters off the island. The statement also stated that a total of 195 passengers and 35 crew members were rescued, including nine who were injured and taken to hospital, explaining that the ship’s log showed that there were only 240 people on board, but there were coast guards and soldiers from the Philippine army. who boarded the ferry and were not included in the register. He pointed out that the cause of the fire is still not clear until now, but some survivors said that it started from the ship’s air-conditioned cabins. It is worth noting that sea travel is a major mode of transportation in the Philippines, an archipelago of more than seven thousand islands.