A cargo vessel suddenly exploded and caught fire in the vicinity waters of Talisay City, Cebu on Easter Sunday, April 17, killing one person and injuring three others.
M/v General Romulo, a container ship and domestic vessel, caught fire while anchored at sea in Barangay Pooc, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
“Based on the initial investigation, the cause of the incident was an explosion. The PCG team is still identifying the particular pipe that exploded,” the PCG said in a statement. They have yet to point out the cause of the explosion as of this writing.
Initial report disclosed that the ship’s crew sent a distress signal around 9:50 a.m. which was picked up by personnel of the PCG Sub-Station Talisay.
They immediately deployed PCG fast patrol boat BRP Malamawi (FPB-2403) to respond to the scene and extinguish the blaze through the help of members of Talisay City Bantay Dagat volunteers.
Rescuers were able to put out the fire but out of the 20 crew members aboard the ill-fated ship, one male personnel died. He was identified as Nelson Polvorosa, 62, chief engineer.
Nineteen others were rescued including three who sustained various injuries. Their identities are yet to be disclosed as of this writing.
“The body of the last crew member is still onboard the vessel. The responding team was unable to rescue/retrieve him due to the magnitude of fire prevailing on the vessel,” the PCG said.
The injured victims were brought to Cebu South Hospital for treatment.
The vessel was reportedly owned and operated by Lorenzo Shipping Corp., and carrying 2,218 tons of cargo from Metro Manila. It was headed to the Port of Cebu when the fire occurred.