A roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) passenger vessel carrying 82 crew members and passengers caught fire off an anchorage area in Batangas on Friday afternoon, August 26.

Commodore Armand Balilo, spokesperson of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), identified the ill-fated vessel as M/V Asia Philippines, which is being operated by the Batangas-based Starlite Shipping.

Initial information from the Coast Guard Station Calapan said there were 34 crew members and 48 passengers onboard the ro-ro vessel when the incident occurred at 5:59 p.m. There were also 16 rolling cargoes onboard the vessel.

Of those onboard, 73 individuals were already rescued as of 7:30 p.m. while the rest remained unaccounted for.

Among those rescued was a 44-year-old woman who was rushed to the hospital for the treatment of her injuries.

It was learned that the vessel left the Calapan port in Oriental Mindoro at 3 p.m. and arrived at the Batangas City port around 5:30 p.m.

Photos provided by the PCG revealed that the incident happened within the vicinity of the anchorage area of the Batangas port, approximately one mile away from the pier.

"The PCG dispatched two vessels to conduct search and rescue operations," Balilo said.

A private vessel also helped in putting the fire out from the burning vessel.

The M/V Asia Philippines has a maximum passenger capacity of 402 individuals, the PCG reported.

This is a developing story.