Latest News
- Court Sentences Bank Employee To 5 Years For Embezzling 100,000...
- Fake ‘Sheikh’ Sentenced To 2-yr As Court Overturns Verdict
- Justice Ministry New Service On The Sahel App
- Ministry Probes 68 Cases Of Illegal Charity, Funds Collection
- Globally, Kuwait Is Among The Top Consumers Of Incense And Oud O...
- Decrease Seen In Foreign Investment
- Kuwait Customs Seized 2 Containers Laden With Tobacco At Shuwaik...
- Unpaid Salaries, Accountant Beaten Up By Workers
- The Sahel App Was Not Hacked, A Spokesman Claims
- Four Expats Arrested For Stealing Copper Cables Worth 60,000 Din...
- Indian National Died In Abdalli Car Accident
- Work Permits And Foreign Worker Transfers Are Amended By PAM
Boat Rescue In Philippines: 245 Rescued, 3 Dead From Burning Ferry
Fishing boats and passing ships rescued 245 people from a ferry that burned overnight in choppy waters in the southern Philippines but at least three people perished, including a child, coast guard officials said Wednesday. Survivors described how they feared being killed by either the fire or waves while waiting for hours to be rescued as brightorange flames engulfed much of the vessel, the M/V Lite Ferry 16, off Dapitan city in Zamboanga del Norte province. The fire apparently started in the engine room, coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo said. Despite the damage, the ferry stayed afl oat about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) off Dapitan city, where it was heading from Santander in central Cebu province.
The victims were a 1-year-old girl and two male passengers in their 60s, Balilo said. “I was thinking of the Lord because I thought there were only two ways that I could end: I could get burned alive or I may drown,” Wilfredo Castro, a businessman, told The Associated Press by telephone after being rescued.
Some passengers jumped off the ferry in panic when the fire broke out before midnight Tuesday and were rescued by passing vessels.
Castro said he and about 30 mostly male fellow passengers allowed a group of the elderly, women and children to be rescued first by a passenger speed boat but when their turn came, the waves grew more dangerous in the darkness.
“The waves were too strong and rescue boats may not be able to find us if we jumped into the sea,” Castro said. After about five hours of frantic waiting in the ferry’s cargo loading bay, one of the parts of the ferry untouched by the fl ames, he said he and the others decided to go for it and dove into the sea. They struggled in the strong waves but reached a waiting rescue boat, he said. “This is my second life,” the 30-year-old businessman said with relief, although he lost a laptop, a camera, a cellphone, clothes and other belongings. (AP)
SOURCE : ARABTIMES
Trending News
-
Eid Al Fitr 2024: Crescent Moon Not Sighted In Sau...
08 April 2024
-
Kuwait Implements Home Biometrics Services Ahead O...
14 April 2024
-
When Will Eid Al Fitr 2024 Take Place In Qatar, Ba...
08 April 2024
-
On Sunday, The Meteorological Department Warns Of...
07 April 2024
-
Kuwait Airways Provides Update On Flight Schedule...
14 April 2024
-
Gathering For Eid Al-Fitr Prayers: Kuwaiti Citizen...
10 April 2024
-
Winners Of Kuwait National Assembly 2024 Elections
06 April 2024
-
Kuwait Airways Introduces Convenient Home Luggage...
15 April 2024
-
An Egyptian Expat Dies At Kuwait's Airport
11 April 2024
-
Bay Zero Water Park Kuwait: Summer Season Opens Ei...
11 April 2024
Comments Post Comment