Cargo ship explosion in Philippines injures at least six, causes fire in Manila slum

Two are missing after a fire and explosion on a cargo ship which was refuelling in the Pasig River in the Philippine capital

Smouldering debris and fuel drums from the ship floated in the river and sparked a fire that affected about 40 shanties

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Members of the Philippine Coast Guard try to extinguish flames on a burning cargo ship docked in Manila on Saturday, June 12. Photo: AP

Published: 10:45pm, 12 Jun 2021

A fire and a powerful blast ripped through a small cargo ship docked to refuel in the Philippine capital of Manila on Saturday, injuring at least six people and igniting a blaze in a nearby riverside slum that gutted dozens of shanties, officials said.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the fire, which raged for about seven hours aboard the MV Titan 8 and forced its crew to jump in panic into the Pasig River.

At least two crewmen who were on the vessel remained unaccounted for.

Firefighters and Philippine Coast Guard staff try to put out a fire which spread from a cargo ship at a wharf in Manila. Photo: Xinhua

The vessel, which was carrying fuel drums, had docked at a wharf in Manila’s Tondo slum district to refuel before a domestic trip to the western Palawan province.

The explosion rocked the vessel in the midmorning followed by a fire.

Some crew members jumped off the ship following the explosion. Four crew members of the Titan 8 were injured, while two crew members from a ship moored nearby were also hurt, the coastguard said.

Smouldering debris and fuel drums from the Titan floated in the river and sparked a fire in a nearby slum that affected about 40 structures, mostly shanties, the Bureau of Fire Protection said.