[Watch] Blast & Fire Rips Through Docked Cargo Ship, Several Injured

A fire and a powerful blast ripped through a small cargo ship docked to refuel in the Philippine capital of Manila on Saturday, reports APNews.

What happened?

According to a report, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said the fire broke out around 9 a.m. local time on Saturday when a cargo vessel was refueling near a bridge in Manila City.

Six crew members were injured and two others “unaccounted for” when the ship caught fire while refueling at a wharf on Saturday morning, PCG said.

What was the reason?

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

Here is the video added in Wral.com website

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

Carrying fuel drums

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

Explosions rocked the vessel in the mid-morning followed by a fire, injuring crewmembers from the vessel and another vessel docked at the wharf, the coast guard said, citing witnesses.

Nearby areas affected

Smoldering debris and fuel drums from the vessel floated in the river and sparked a fire in a nearby slum that affected about 40 structures, mostly shanties, the coast guard said. Coast guard personnel on boats with water cannons helped extinguish the blaze.