At least 31 people died and 230 were rescued after a fire engulfed a ferry in Basilan, authorities said Thursday, March 30. The Lady Mary Joy 3 was travelling from Zamboanga City to Jolo, Sulu when the fire broke out late Wednesday, March 29, prompting passengers to jump overboard, disaster officer Nixon Alonzo said. Rescuers, including the Philippine Coast Guard and fishermen, saved 195 passengers and 35 crew as the blaze ripped through the ferry off Baluk-Baluk Island. An earlier death toll more than doubled after the discovery of 18 bodies on the vessel, Basilan Gov. Jim Salliman told AFP. The bodies were found inside an airconditioned cabin during an ongoing search of the ferry. "People panicked because they were asleep when the fire happened," said Commodore Rejard Marfe from the PCG, citing witness accounts. As the fire spread, the captain ran the vessel aground "so many more could survive since it would be easier to swim to shore," Marfe told AFP. Authorities said earlier that 14 people were injured and seven were missing. Salliman said there could be more people missing because the number of passengers on the vessel exceeded the 205 listed in the ship's manifest. "Probably there are passengers who didn't register in the manifest," he said. It was not clear how the fire started. Survivors were taken to Zamboanga and Basilan where the injured received treatment for burns, Salliman said. Photos released by the PCG showed one of its vessels spraying water on the burning ferry as personnel in smaller boats plucked passengers from the dark waters. The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, is plagued by poor sea transport, with its badly regulated ferries prone to overcrowding and accidents. (AFP)